Frames
Film makers use frames to tell a story.
Painters use them to contain their window into another world.
Architects use them to direct our gaze
And we get to use them to dictate how we feel and what we do.
What frame do you want to put on this experience? What story do you want to tell yourself?
Change your frame, change your life.
The true joy in life
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
George Bernard Shaw
Stories
Humans love stories.
We use them to make sense of the world around us.
The danger here is we can make stories that don’t serve us.
‘I’m not smart enough to do this’
‘It’ll never work out for me’
‘I can’t do that because I’m too (insert quality of choice)’
These are just stories. Yes, stories are helpful to help us make sense, to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
But if we tell the wrong story, we can find ourselves in the final chapters feeling unfulfilled.
We can choose our stories, so might as well pick a good one.
Best worst
My acting mentor has a great phrase he often uses when directing.
He’ll say: “Show me your best worst version of…”
And then he’ll add whatever he wants me to try out.
Your ‘best worst’ means to do the best you can at the worst version of the thing.
It lowers the bar, it asks you to be bad and gives you permission.
In acting, like many endeavors, you have to start somewhere… and that somewhere is probably not going to be Oscar winning.
So don’t try and be awesome. Just give me the best version of the worst version you possibly can.
It might, be good. But it better not be, I asked for best worst!
What’s good?
I love when people greet others with ‘what’s good?’
It’s kind of cool and I don’t really know what it means in that context.
But I like what it makes me think of. What’s good? A cup of tea on a rainy day.
What’s good? A grilled cheese sandwich.
What’s good? So many things!
We get what we ask for. I’d like to ask myself what’s good more often.
Privilege
“..And it is a privilege to love everything before death can touch it.” – Eboni Booth, from the play Primary Trust.
We are endlessly lucky to live this life. That means we’re lucky to see brilliant sunsets and we’re lucky to wait for our internet browser to load.
This whole thing is a miracle.
What are do you appreciate right now that you would usually take for granted?
Monday Move
What is a Monday Move?
A Monday Move is how your Saturday morning dreaming is put into action.
You’re out to coffee with your friend on a Saturday and you are both dreaming of that big amazing goal. It’s easy to picture it, the details fill themselves in and you have a glistening masterpiece in your head.
The trick is turning that vision into a Monday Move.
What do you do on Monday?
Why “Monday”? Well Monday has strong “back to work” connotations in the culture. It implies getting to reality.
Why “moves”? Well like a chess move, a really good move isn’t random. It’s calculated. It’s a step toward. It’s also just a move. Not a whole dance.
Monday Moves are there to remind us to to bring the glistening dream to the reality of Monday and do something about it.
What’s your Monday Move?
Authenticity
One of my favourite things about acting is we have to make something that isn’t real feel authentic.
You don’t do that by being really good at lying, by the way. You do that by being really good at being real.
Actors aren’t liars, they’re truth tellers.
I’m amazed at how authenticity cuts through. I watch a video of a thought leader I really respect and I can feel their words, I understand them not from their words, but the heart behind the words.
Authenticity cuts through. We can get caught up in trying to make things slick or perfect but at the end of it all, if your intentions are pure and in congruence with what you’re trying to do. It’ll come through.
It’s the great gift us humans have. We don’t need you to be perfect, we can feel you.
We’re made of blood and bones and our hearts are running all the time.
We can feel you.
Make your move
I love setting goals. Where the rubber meets the road though, is in the system.
A system is the set of repetitive tasks or the sequence that takes you inevitably to your goal.
And a system starts with a first move.
So if you can figure the goal, the system and the first move, then your only job is to stick to the system.
When it comes time to do your little bit for the day, you have to keep the end goal in mind.
Set the goal. Find the system. Make your move.
Do
I’m enjoying the effect simple language changes has on the way I perceive the world and myself in it.
Here’s one I just noticed.
“Try my best” vs. “Do my best”
They could be seen interchangeable. But as Yoda himself knows, there’s a world of difference between try and do.
Don’t “try” to. DO your best.