By: Jess Canty
I want to piggyback on Brian Gilleece's post this week as it is the time of year to start to reflect on your success and plan for next year.
Part of this reflection should be a list of all of the things you are grateful for about your career thus far. There are numerous studies around the concept of Positive Psychology
that prove that even just a few minutes a day of exercising your positive thoughts muscles can have a tremendous effect on your over-all happiness.
I was reminded of this when seeing my (name-drop alert) college classmate Marielle Heller's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood this holiday. Among Mr. Roger's incredible traits was that he actively sought out gratitude in even the most difficult of circumstances. One could argue that he was a heavyweight champion of thankfulness.
So how do you do this?
I recommend taking 10 minutes this week and go old-school with it.
Grab a piece of paper and your favorite pen - you know the one that the ink comes out all smooth and it is comfortable to hold - and put on some tunes and start to list all of the things you are grateful for in 2019.
Perhaps it was a big audition.
Perhaps it was meeting that one casting director that you have been trying to get in for.
Perhaps it was simply surviving another year as a working artist in Los Angeles.
List all of the people who support and help you on this journey.
The friends you self-tape with, that gal that always picks up your shift at the restaurant when you have an audition.
Who motivates you? Maybe you're grateful for Will Smith's instagram? Mark Hamill's and Chrissy Teigen's twitter feeds?
List all of the actors who gave performances that motivated you to improve, to work harder to be better.
List all of the movies and TV shows that inspire you - be grateful for the people and skill that brought those into the world.
What about all of the companies that spend billions of dollars on making movies and television and create the jobs that you can be hired on.
The movie theaters that show independent films.
The movie theaters that show big blockbusters.
The people that clean up your spilled popcorn.
The people who made your television, iPhone, Android Phone.
The people that made your couch.
The technology that allows you to create your own ideas and put them out into the world for pennies on the dollar compared to just 20 years ago.
Everyone in your life who came to a show or clicked on a link to watch you do what you do best.
The goals you achieved this year.
Be grateful for your own creative spark. That magical place where your good ideas come from.
Be grateful for your own discipline, your dedication and your motivation for your dreams.
Put that piece of paper in an envelope and seal it - and a note to re-open it this time next year.
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