I want to focus a bit on personal lives instead of business lives. I know I’ve written a post before about mixing business and personal, but I realized after completing that post that I still wanted to say more.
As actors, we tend to focus a lot on our outsides. We want to stay in shape to get the roles we want or for a specific role because we may need to wear a skimpy costume (or nothing at all). We color our hair so our roots (or grays) don’t show. We wear makeup whenever we are out and about just in case we may run into someone who can affect our career. We get plastic surgery if we feel it’s necessary. We wear Spanx and other undergarments to make our clothes and our bodies to look smooth. But that stuff doesn’t necessarily matter. You can look perfect on the outside when your insides are a total mess.
While most of us go to workout on a regular basis, many people do it just to look better on camera. But if you find a workout that you enjoy (I personally love Orangetheory), workouts can be more than just a sweat session to look good. They can be a time to focus on how your body feels. You can focus on getting strong and not just getting skinny. I have friends in most of my workout classes so those hour long workouts also become social time (when we can catch our breath). And of course, a good workout is good for your health and preventing heart and other health issues. Even though I work out at a high intensity class, it’s also a time for me to meditate and focus on my day. It’s one of the few times that I’m not constantly looking at my phone or worried about what I should be doing versus what I am doing.
A similar thing can be said for eating right. Most of us do it to maintain or lose weight or to stay looking good. But if you focus on your health and enjoying your food instead of counting every morsel that goes into your mouth, that can make life just so much better. This is one that I am personally struggling with and have lots of demons about. But on the days that I just let go and focus on eating what makes me feel good, I have less food issues. And if you are lucky enough to live in a place like LA where there is a farmer’s market practically every day, there’s no lack of beautiful and healthy things you can buy and eat.
I also highly recommend meeting with a therapist if you don’t feel 100% inside. I’ve had several therapists over the years and every single one of them has helped me get through what I struggled with at that point in my life. I’m currently seeing a therapist for my eating disorder and I can’t believe that I waited this many years to get help. My friends have all commented how I look so different now because the stress that I had keeping my eating disorder to myself is now gone. I feel free and my appearance has somehow changed because of that. I’ve had therapists in the past help me with my panic/anxiety disorder and through some relationship issues. Whatever is causing you worry and concern, there is typically a therapist that can help you with that. And if you don’t have insurance coverage to see a therapist, you can try support groups, city clinics, paying in cash for a discount, or even seeing someone online (7 Cups has been highly recommended to me).
And what I think the most important thing you can do to be the healthiest you is to remember to have fun in life. Life is short and you don’t want to waste it being stressed out. If any of you have done “The Artist’s Way”, they recommend going on Artist Dates to reconnect to yourself and have a creative outing. I personally try to do this each week if possible. There’s something about just going out and having fun that helps you feel rejuvenated and ready to start the next week. I don’t always make my Artist Date a solo activity, but it’s nice to be ok with going out on your own and having fun.
This is such a strange and stressful industry that we are in. There is so much focus on the superficial and it can feel like the internal issues need to take a backseat sometimes because people don’t seem to care. But it’s so important for your own wellbeing to remember to be good to yourself so that you don’t get burned out with everything else that you have to deal with.