Comfortably Uncomfortable

Welcome to The Aligned Actor Podcast! I’m Amy Schloerb, your friendly fellow actor and mindfulness and mindset coach. This is the podcast where I offer practical mindfulness tools and mindset shifts to help us all thrive in our full actor lives. Actor Life is a stressful, relentless roller coaster full of ups, downs, twists, turns, and sometimes full on loop-de-loops. There’s uncertainty, rejection, and unpredictable urgency, all of which will constantly test us. And the only way we will survive in this profession long-term is if we take care of ourselves and find effective ways to handle all the stress that is baked into Actor Life. I want you to stay aligned with who you are, what you want, and why you choose to be an actor, so that you can make it in an industry that will test you on each of those ideas continuously. We start to question and doubt ourselves on those ideas because rejection, uncertainty and urgency tend to create very uncomfortable states within our bodies and minds. Think about the last time you didn’t book a job. * How did that feel? * I’m guessing, not great — Oh man! I really liked that one and I coulda really used the money right now. What am I doing wrong? * Rejection is an uncomfortable feeling. And it’s likely compounded with other uncomfortable feelings such as disappointment, insecurity, self doubt and maybe even shame. Think about a recent “slow time.” * How did that feel? * Again, I’m guessing it sucked — When will my next audition come in? Will I ever work again? Did I miss my time? What if I never '“make it” as an actor? * Uncertainty is HELLA uncomfortable. Nothing in this business is guaranteed. There is no linear progress like so many other professions have. We could even achieve great success and then just stop working for whatever reason. It’s that uncertain. * Plus, there’s the heartache and longing of not getting to do the thing we love. Think about the last time you had an audition request. * How did that feel? * Okay, a little different this time because it’s a “good thing” — But also, HURRY, HURRY, GO! GO! GO! GET IT ALL DONE NOW! * Urgency is stressful and that’s very uncomfortable. Becoming Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable Mindfulness is a great way to acknowledge, accept, and get used to being uncomfortable without running from situations that bring up discomfort within us. We can become comfortable with the incredibly uncomfortable feelings of rejection, uncertainty, and urgency that are baked into life as an actor. These feelings then have less of an impact on our nervous systems and stress levels. In mindfulness we practice noticing and “sitting with” all our thoughts, emotions, and sensations without engaging with them. Without judging them (or ourselves) as “good” or “bad.” We just let them pass by like clouds in the sky. We practice NOT following our thoughts off into the future or the past. The rejection of “Another one I didn’t book.” lives in the past. The uncertainty of “When will my next audition come in?” lives in the future. The urgency of “I gotta figure out getting this audition done!” is a bit of a trickster, but it also lives in the future. These thoughts tend to activate uncomfortable sensations in the body — butterflies in the tummy, heaviness all over, tension in the shoulders, accelerated breath and heart rate, etc — but those sensations tend to dissipate as we train our focus on our breath in the present moment. And even if the sensations are intense and lingering, mindfulness offers us a way to witness and allow our feelings instead of stuffing them away or letting them overtake us completely. We can acknowledge where they manifest in our body and even study them curiously, which could even help in future roles. The more we practice “sitting with” the uncomfortable feelings of Actor Life, the less and less disrupting they will be for us in general. We can become comfortable being uncomfortable. And remember, mindfulness doesn’t have to take a long time or look a certain way. In fact, let’s try a little someone together. * Pick an uncomfortable state — rejection, uncertainty, urgency, or something else. * You can use a little Uta Hagen emotional or sense memory to bring that uncomfortable feeling up in your body, but then let that memory go because we’re not interested in the thoughts or images of that memory right now. Just focus on the physical sensations of the feeling. * Find where the sensations manfest in your body. * Just sit with it. Allow it. Study it with curiosity and kindness. * Keep breathing and sitting with whatever sensations are present for you. * Stay present with just the sensation rather than letting your mind pull you back into the story of the rejection or the story of the uncertainty or the story of the urgency. It doesn’t matter, it’s all over, we’re just practicing sitting with the feeling. Let me know what that was like for you. You can leave me a comment or send me an email at [email protected]. Obviously, you don’t have to do a deep dive on all your uncomfortable feelings when they arise, but the next time one comes up, just let yourself be curious about it. Breathe with it and be kind to yourself, and I think you’ll become a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Thank you so much for joining me! If you found this content helpful and inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with your actor pals, and check out my offerings below. Thanks! Get Out of Your Head and Rock Your Next Audition 🎧 I’ve created a free guided meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition. It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — How can I book this? What do they want? — and focus in on what your character wants, what’s going on in the scene, so that you can present your best work every time. Access Your Presence and Feel Empowered in Your Actor Life 📖 The Aligned Actor Mindfulness Toolkit This ebook is comprehensive collection of tools guaranteed to be the Dramamine you need for the roller coaster ride of #ActorLife. Whether you’re dealing with audition nerves, obsessively checking your email after submitting a self tape, or just learned your series has been canceled, there’s something here that will help you access your presence and feel grounded again. I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life. 🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series. 🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives. 💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools. 🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thealignedactor.substack.com