I had this realization that I found helpful in my life.
I noticed when I worked I usually asked myself this:
Am I doing this correctly?
What do they want?
How can I meet their expectations?
Will they be happy with this?
Is this good enough?
But, if I noticed my thinking pattern and instead asked:
What if I tried to do this to the very best of my ability?
What if I try to exceed my own expectations?
What if I move this in a new direction and try things I hadn’t been thinking of?
What will happen if I put my heart and soul into this?
When I change my thinking pattern, things immediately become more creative. Whatever I am working on becomes more interesting to me. I can apply this not only to creative work but to everyday tasks like cleaning the kitchen. I can do a super good job on the kitchen instead of my normal half-assed job. The best part of it is, even better than having a clean kitchen I start to feel truly alive. I realize that sounds a little over the top, but it’s true.
In fact, I start to feel like actress Viola McElwain ( picture above) in her Character Portrait exercise. I feel the joy of letting myself fully go into something without the restrictions of “what will they think”. And, making these choices in the small things, most assuredly, is going to transfer over and affect the bigger picture. So, not only is my kitchen clean, but my life becomes totally fulfilling – because I’m no longer habitually living with “is this good enough?”.
-Michelle Meyrink
Actorium
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