How to Cope with Lack of Motivation
Let’s be honest. This year has put us performers under so much pressure, both physically and emotionally. With every kind of live show paused and postponed, and absolutely no certainty about the future, it happened more than once that my morale needed a serious boost. Personally, I found myself swinging between two opposite states of being. One morning I wake up vibrant with energy, and the following I struggle even to get up. For those of you who know me personally, as a usually super-positive and proactive girl, I tend to feel utterly guilty and useless any time I’m down. Which eventually makes everything worse, a true vicious cycle.
Ok guys, let’s take a step back .Theatre industry has been shut down for over a year worldwide. True. But the progression of the pandemic isn’t under our control AT ALL. As a general rule, I strongly suggest to channel our time and strength into something we can totally dominate, and to surrender to anything else. Here are some tips which helped-and still do-during these challenging times.
Take Advantage of the Time we’re Given
If we slightly change perspective, this endless period of unemployment has given us the most precious gift of all: time. Invest this in doing all kinds of stuff you usually put off and complain about not being able to take care of. Seize the day!
Identify Your Why
Each and everyone of us must have theirs clear in mind. It should be so deeply rooted in us that, any time we call our career into question, we immediately get an energy boost. Mine, for instance, is my dear uncle Giuseppe, who passed away after years of struggling with depression and alcoholism . He was the typical guy who was invisible to the rest of the world. Our relationship, though, was very special- he actually was one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met- and any tiny success I achieve in my career is dedicated to him.
Study, Study, Study!
Our culture is what truly makes the difference. There’s this common misconception that art- of any kind- can be somehow improvised. False. Art is the perfect synergy of emotions and technique. Hence the necessity of studying and keeping up with any news concerning our field. Delve deeper into it! Train, do your barre exercises, revise that tap combination. Learn history of dance and choreography. Watch shows on YouTube. Read books.
Be Gentle And Cheer Yourself Up
Being a perfectionist- my friends call it the “Dancer mindset”-, I hardly forgive myself during one of those days in which I’m not at my best. But at the end of the day we’re just humans , and perfection doesn’t belong to our world. It’s totally fine to have a bad day in which our productivity is quite low- don’t feel guilty or ashamed about it. Tomorrow you’ll feel better. Alongside this, please remember to cheer yourself up. As any other athlete already does, we need someone to be on our side, so why don’t we start to be that person? Enjoy where you are in the path towards your dreams, and please remember that even the tiniest improvement is ALREADY an improvement. Reward yourself for it! When in doubt, take a look back and appreciate how far you’ve already gone.
Re-imagine and Re-define Your Art
Creativity call! As I have stated previously, no one can control a pandemic. We can control what we do and how we feel about it, though; we’d rather adapt ourselves and our activity to the current times. Frankly speaking, I’m not very fond of online dance classes- the energy created in a studio, with real human beings in front of me, is still incomparable. But somehow I have to survive, so I began to teach online classes of all levels. I studied Event management online, took acting classes for the first time and went back to writing after ages. It may be impossible to dance at the moment, but at least I can write about it.
We chose- or we’ve been chosen- by art at its purest form. It would be reductive to refer to it as “just a job”, it’s NOURISHMENT for the SOUL, ours and of the audience indeed. We’re blessed, which involves a certain sense of responsibility . Each morning, we should wake up and ask ourselves:
“What can I come up with concerning my art today?”
