The Importance of the Downtime
Whether it is holiday season or not, there are many of us – the ambitious and highly driven actors – who find it hard to do nothing. To stop. To relax. To play. There is so much work to be done we feel. My message to you is that the play and the rest are the work. In fact, they are more important than the work.
If any of you have ever done any resistance or weight training, it would appear, that the ‘work’ is achieved by those last few reps where you essentially damage the muscle. But the strengthening, the muscle growth, occurs on the rest day, when your highly intelligent body rebuilds the muscle stronger than before. Without this rest time the strengthening cannot occur.
You need to see the rest as being as important as the work
Body
The body needs rest to repair, so if you want to have the health and vitality to conquer life’s challenges in 2020, you need to see the rest as being as important as the work. Without your health you cannot achieve the things you want to do – so first and foremost you must prioritise rest.
Mind
Then there is the mind. Many geniuses have had their eureka moments away from their desks: in the shower, on a walk and even in their sleep. When we get away from what we are trying to solve, true wisdom and inspiration can occur.
Imagination
And then, very importantly for actors, there is the need to play. Play helps us be in the moment, and it is where the imagination can expand, and we become our most relaxed and most creative. As actors we must play. Our goal is to be paid to play, right?
So, whilst your ego, will have you believe that you need to push more, work harder and make things happen, the true genius happens when we surrender and allow.
My message is to take Christmas off (unless you are in Panto, in which case find rest and family, play time the month after!) Be with loved ones. Be in the moment. That is the Christmas ‘present’.
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