Developing Confidence: Practice
“There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory.” – Unknown
So far in our discussion about developing confidence we have talked about Trust and Faith, but without Practice neither of these two can exist.
Many actors know practice naturally makes them better, but how many work on acting in their life every day? Just like going to the gym, if you don’t go every day, your skills atrophy and you get rusty. If you want to be a professional actor, we have to behave like a professional.
How many professional athletes don’t practice every day? Or practice once a week for just a couple of hours? How many only practice for a few hours before a game and not again until they have another game? Many actors behave this way however? Without consistent practice how can one expect to see long-term lasting results?
Besides acting, there is another skill we need to practice. The mental and emotional game. It is one thing to momentarily trust yourself or have faith in your success. To hold these feelings briefly is quite common. It is a matter of practice, however to be able to insure that they are there everyday when you need them.
Find that space within your self (even if at first it feels fake), and practice staying there for as long as possible. Don’t fight the negative thoughts that will inevitably creep in, and don’t be upset when you lose the moment. Remember, this is just a practice. But when you’ve lost it (and once again, it’s okay if you do), re-center yourself and begin again. This time, you might hold on a little longer. Next time, maybe longer still. Work on staying in trust and faith a little more each time, so soon you’ll find yourself there more and more often in your daily life and calling it up at will.
No one wakes up in the morning and decides to run a marathon without practicing; let alone wins that marathon. You’ve got to put in the time – hours and hours of work. Working, refining, reworking. Striving to be more in the moment, perfecting and strengthening your mental game. For only by practicing both of these skills and working those muscles can we make them stronger.