Episodios

  • Who's Your Biggest Fan?

    Who's Your Biggest Fan?
    Apr 9 2026
    *Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy….I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣We’re on the messy side of my office today because the sun is being weird on that side where my backdrop is pretty, but we’re just gonna go with it cause this is not about perfection, right?So I’ve been on a bit of a healing journey recently specifically around my mom, thinking a lot about her and about how she was my biggest fan, and I really miss that.For those of you who don’t know, my mom died when I was 24.She was my biggest fan. It was so wonderful and beautiful, how much she believed in me and thought I was talented.I remember this one improv show that I did. She had this joke where she always had this fantasy of standing up in the middle of the audience when I was performing on stage and yelling out, “That’s my baby!”She got to do it that night, and I actually like teed her up for it. I said, “This was always my mom’s dream to...” and then she took it from there.Everybody loved it. It was very fun.The show then ended up being really great, which is always a bonus. Somebody took her home I came home later. She had kind of waited up in her bed to be like, “Amy, Amy, I have to talk to you about the show. It was so good. Oh my goodness. It was amazing. You were so good and everybody in the show was so good. And it was just amazing! It was wonderful!”She went on and on and on and on and on and on about how great it was.Here I had been thinking, “Man, I have a lot to learn and I am not as good as all those folks over there. Ugh, there’s always ways to get better and I gotta be thinking about how I can get better.”And here she was basically just like, “You’re great! You’re awesome! Look at how good you already are!”And I really like tapping into that energy and that feel.And that has inspired me to become my own biggest fan.Maybe that sounds kind of cheesy and cliche, but I wanna do that.I wanna become my own biggest fan.Two Ways to PlayThere’s two ways that all of us can gently start playing with this idea.1️⃣ — One, we can tap into the energy of other people around us who do believe in us, who do think we’re talented, who do think we have a lot going for us, on our side, rah rah, rah, cheering us on.I can go back and kind of live in the memory of that night with my mom and see how that affects my self-concept.2️⃣ — And then the other thing I think we can do is think about people that we believe in, that we think are talented or are doing a great job, and we’re like, “Why can’t you see what a great job you’re doing? I see what a great job you’re doing. I want you to know what a great job you’re doing.”We all have people in our lives that we believe in and so I think tapping into that energy, and remembering what it’s like to feel that for somebody else where maybe they don’t see it yet and then finding a way to direct that inward.It can be a lot harder for us to direct those good feelings, that praise and pride inward for our own accomplishments.But we can.I think the only thing we can do is practice.Let’s face it, our inner critic has become really loud and it only got really loud ‘cause we practiced the thoughts, we listened to those thoughts.It’s kind of a pervasive belief in our society of like, “ Oh, I am my own worst critic.” Everybody says that, right? It’s just like in the collective.That only happened through practice.Why aren’t we practicing something that serves us far better?The inner critic can be useful. It can help us with like healthy striving, improving, but at some point, we also have to be acknowledging how great we already are and giving ourselves credit for that.Start practicing that biggest fan voice. Start becoming your own biggest fan.It’ll be helpful for all of us. 💖If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, or give a one-time donation.I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives.💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools.🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗 Get my FREE Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧I’ve created a free ...
    Más Menos
    3 m
  • The Day I Almost Quit Acting...

    The Day I Almost Quit Acting...
    Apr 2 2026
    *Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy….I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣I’m wearing my ‘SAG-AFTRA Strong’ shirt so that I can tell you about the day I almost quit acting.It was the middle of the pandemic. Everyone’s stressed out.My child, who was a preschooler/toddler at the time, had a meltdown right before I was going to start recording on a self-tape.It got me all up in my own feelings and very sort of activated and stressed within my body. And then I tried to just go right into this self-tape, which was not a good idea at all and I recognize that now.I was having a really hard time focusing and getting the work done.I decided to take a break and I put it all away for a while, but the entire time that I had it, like, “Okay, I’ll go back to that later” I couldn’t put it down.There was something that was just so off.Every time I thought about going back in to do the self-tape, I would be on the verge of tears.I had all these gremlin voices that kept telling me things like, “If you were a real actor, you’d be able to get this done. Guess you’re not really an actress.”That mental garbage floating around in my brain while I’m already feeling stressed about the pandemic, and stressed about getting a self-tape in, and stressed about how my child is handling their emotions and what I can do to help them as a mom.It was a complete disaster s**t show.In the end, I passed on the audition.I emailed my agent and I said, “Guys, I’m really sorry. This is just not happening.”And, of course, as soon as I passed on the audition, I felt relieved that I wasn’t going to have to do that now, but the gremlin voices got louder.All of a sudden it was like, “Well, if you can’t get that one audition done, why are you doing any auditions? Why don’t you just quit acting all together? What’s wrong with you? Are you an actress or not?”Oh, I was beating myself up to no end and it was a nightmare.Thankfully, another voice started to come forward. And I believe that that was the voice of my inner guidance, my intuition.That voice said, “This doesn’t mean anything about you as an actor.”And I kind of went, “Wait, what? I don’t understand.”And it was like, “No. This doesn’t mean anything about you as an actor.”Listening to that voice, starting to kind of guide my thoughts in that direction, that’s what really helped to bring me back around and realize that I’m the one who makes the meaning here of all of this stuff.I can choose to make passing on an audition and not being able to get a self-tape done mean I’m a horrible actor and I don’t even deserve to be in this profession.Or I can make it mean I’m having an off day, I’m a human being, everybody has off days, and this just wasn’t meant to be, and that’s okay.Choosing to follow my inner guidance, my own heart, that calm, steady voice — instead of all the gremlin, monkey mind, bleh voices — The voice of “This doesn’t mean anything about you as an actor” really helped.It brought me back from almost quitting acting.That’s the power of that voice and how helpful it was.The bigger story and lesson here is we make the meaning. Human beings are meaning making machines. We make meaning about everything in our lives so that we can understand it better.But when we start making meanings that make us feel bad about ourselves, that’s not so helpful.“My kid has too much screen time, that means I’m a bad mom.”“I can’t make my living as an actor, I have to have a day job, that means I’m not really an actor.”“I don’t look like the Photoshopped model on the magazine cover, so therefore, that means I will never find a partner.”None of those have to mean any of those things.They can mean what we choose to make them mean.So my question to you is: What are you making _______________ mean about you?And if it’s making you feel bad I would encourage you to look at the situation in a new way. Can you find a more empowering meaning from that situation?Let’s make sure we’re finding empowering meanings in our lives.Thank you so much for joining me. Please like, comment, and share this video with your friends, anybody who you think needs to hear it.Also, please check out my website, thealignedactor.com for more on me, and my work. And be sure to grab my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation below! ⬇️ I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and...
    Más Menos
    5 m
  • It's Okay to Feel Disappointed When You Don't Book.

    It's Okay to Feel Disappointed When You Don't Book.
    Mar 26 2026
    *Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy….I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣“I try not to let it bother me.” Have you ever said that to yourself?Some kind of situation has happened in your life, it clearly bothers you, but you’re really trying to not let it bother you.I totally get that because whatever that bothered feeling is, is uncomfortable in our bodies.It’s maybe disappointment, like, “Oh, I try not to let it bother me that I didn’t a callback for that role. I’m trying not to let it bother me though.”But clearly I’m already bothered, right?So, here I am feeling sad, disappointed, whatever feelings I’m feeling as an actor about not booking. And I’m also resisting that feeling, so I’m trying not to feel it, which is also uncomfortable.So I have two things going against me simultaneously.I have the undercurrent of whatever that uncomfortable feeling is that I’m resisting. And then I have all of the energy that I’m putting into resisting feeling that way.It’s like a double whammy and it’s no fun at all.And I understand why it is that I, and maybe you, all of us, resist being bothered, feeling disappointed, sad, hurt, upset.These feelings are very uncomfortable within our bodies.So I understand why it is that we try to push them away, not feel that way.“I’m going to put on a happy face and go out and something fun” and whatever.But I think when we do that, we also deny a part of ourselves that we can deny it for a certain amount of time and it will kind of quiet down.But it keeps talking, in some way, until we finally just acknowledge it and listen to it.I have found it much more valuable in my life to listen to that voice, that part of me that feels hurt or disappointed or upset about whatever the situation is. Give it voice, give it acknowledgement and say, “Okay, so this is how I’m feeling right now, and that’s okay, and if I acknowledge this and I feel this through in my body, it will start to dissipate.”I think we get scared that we’re going to get trapped there and that really doesn’t ever happen.Someone, somewhere, and I think Oprah then repeated what they said, the lifespan of a feeling is about 90 seconds.I don’t know if that’s necessarily true or not. I know I’ve certainly felt upset for maybe at least a couple of days over certain things, but that also might’ve been me feeling upset and then resisting feeling upset.I might’ve cut that time down a lot if I had just gone, “I feel upset. I’m gonna throw myself a little pity party because things didn’t go the way that I’d kind of wanted them to go, and I’m sad.”And that’s it.So my question to you would be… If you’re one of the people that likes to say, “I’m trying to not let it bother me” or “I don’t want it to bother me. I’m trying to just move on and whatever” and everything.Let it bother you.So that’s not a question.That’s actually just a statement.Let it f—ing bother you.It’s okay.You will live.I promise.As long as you don’t cause harm to yourself or anyone around you, you just feeling bothered by a situation and then extending to yourself the compassion of acceptance of that emotion.Try that out.I think that’s going to take you a lot farther than you think it might.That’s what I have for you today. Thank you so much for joining me.Please comment on this video, like it, share it.And if you would like more information about me, you can go to thealignedactor.com, find out all about me. About me as an actor, about me as a coach, whatever you want to know.If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, or give a one-time donation.I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives.💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools.🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗 Get my FREE Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next audition. It’s going to help you calm your nerves, let go of distracting thoughts — “How can I book this? What do they want?” — and focus ...
    Más Menos
    3 m
  • How To Move On Easily After Every Audition

    How To Move On Easily After Every Audition
    Mar 19 2026

    Last week we talked about why it’s important to stop asking the question, “Why didn’t I book?” That question just keeps us stuck in a cycle of shame and self-doubt, which is no way to approach future auditions or our acting career in general.

    The subtext of that question is usually, “Why wasn’t I good enough? How can I be better? What do I need to fix about myself?”

    Instead of assuming we did something “wrong” and ruminating on how we can “fix” our auditions moving forward, I want us all to trust that our work is solid and each audition we present to casting strengthens our reputation as actors.

    To that end, this week I’m going to guide you through a relaxing visualization which will help you rewrite your mental script from “Why didn’t I book? Was I not good enough?” to “I trust my work and I strengthened my reputation in the industry.”

    We’re going to begin the process of rewiring your brain from it’s default, unhelpful mindset of “Not booking means I wasn’t good enough” to a more supportive mindset of “My work is good and I just have to keep presenting it to the world.”

    The good news is that our brains are highly neuro-plastic meaning that they can change and grow in ways that support our overall well-being. Repetition is a key way that we rewire the brain in ways that we choose. Using this audio after every audition, and maybe even auditions long since past, will help you cultivate trust in your work and allow you to move on from auditions more gracefully.

    Over time, that attitude of self-trust and confidence will become your new default mindset.

    Here’s the guided audio…

    Hopefully you found that helpful and it allowed you to feel good about your recent audition.

    I hope that you celebrate every audition you do. That’s the work of being an actor and you deserve to feel proud and complete with every bit of work you present in every single audition ever.

    If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, or give a one-time donation to support my on-going work — so I can bring you more content like this.

    I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.

    🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.

    🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives.

    💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools.

    🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗



    Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe
    Más Menos
    14 m
  • I Know Why You Didn't Book It...

    I Know Why You Didn't Book It...
    Mar 12 2026
    There’s an unhelpful question that many actors ask. “Why didn’t I book that role?”When enough time has passed that we know we didn’t book the role, our brains start to get desperate to find out why. We yearn for feedback, thinking there might be something we can fix about our craft or audition technique.But we will never know why we didn’t book. The question will never be answered. And brains HATE questions they cannot answer. The uncertainty feels so uncomfortable, that our brain starts serving up all kinds of made up answers to the question just so we can get some kind of relief.Maybe I didn’t book because I used my sides…Maybe I didn’t book because I fell out of connection with my reader…Maybe I didn’t book because I made that pause WAY too long…Maybe I didn’t book because I didn’t make a “bold” choice…Maybe I didn’t book because I was too quirky in my slate…Maybe I didn’t book because I wasn’t quirky enough in my slate…Maybe I didn’t book because my acting was so awful that the casting director watched my tape, laughed hysterically, and called in all their associates to watch “the worst self tape in the history of self tapes!”But here’s the real reason you didn’t book, and the only reason that we know is 100% factually accurate.You didn’t book the role because… …someone else did.That’s it.And I realize that might seem like a really irritating and unsatisfying answer, but again, it’s the only one that we know is 100% factual. All the other reasons that your brain is serving up to you are likely complete and utter nonsense.STOP. TORTURING. YOURSELF.Stop letting your brain spin on a question that has no answer.Ruminating on the question “Why didn’t I book?” is one of the worst forms of self-torture you can inflict on yourself as an actor. It zaps your mental energy and keeps you stuck in a cycle of shame and self-doubt, which you carry with you into your next audition.Now when you’re prepping your next audition you’re in your head going, “Okay, what can I do better this time so that I can book this one?”Whether you realize it or not, that question adds an undertone of self-doubt to your audition, which has a profound impact on the quality of your performance.Then, if you don’t book AGAIN, you’re back beating yourself up AGAIN, nit-picking every piece of your craft AGAIN, and perpetually stuck in the demoralizing energy of “What is wrong with me?!”And the cycle continues, audition…after audition…after audition.But here’s the truth: There is nothing wrong with you when you don’t book. You’re just experiencing the life of the actor.You will never know why you didn’t book.So stop asking.Break The Audition Self-Doubt CycleWhy you didn’t book doesn’t matter. It’s not your business and not worth your mental energy.What matters is making sure you stay confident in yourself as an actor so that you can always be ready to show your best work to casting. To do that, you need to break the cycle of audition self-doubt by unsubscribing from the idea that “not booking” means “I wasn’t good enough.”Because it’s so rarely ever that.Stop asking, “Why didn’t I book?” and searching endlessly for things to fix about yourself. Start trusting that your work is good enough and that every audition strengthens your reputation in the industry.This mindset shift will completely change the energy with which you approach your auditions.“Why didn’t I book?” is a question steeped in self-doubt.“Every audition I do strengthens my reputation in the industry” is a statement brimming with grounded self-confidence.Auditioning with the energy of the latter will lead to WAY better performances than the energy of the former.You shift the entire energy of your audition from “Is this okay? Is this what you want?” to “Here’s my work. I’d love to collaborate with you now or in the future.”Share your work proudly and let the industry fall in love with you.Key TakeawaysHere’s what I want you to remember above all else.The ONLY REASON you know for sure is 100% factually accurate as to why you didn’t book a job is: because someone else did.So, the next time your brain asks the question, “Why didn’t I book that?” you can answer it plainly and directly, “Oh, that’s easy. I didn’t book that role because someone else did.”If your brain continues to kick up a fuss, presenting you with a laundry list of reasons that make you feel miserable about yourself, and you feel yourself slipping into self-doubt, tell your brain this:“Even though I didn’t book that role, my audition strengthened my reputation in the industry.”If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, or give a one-time donation to support my on-going work — so I can bring you more content like this.I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and...
    Más Menos
    10 m
  • [Re-release] Stop Sabotaging Your Auditions!

    [Re-release] Stop Sabotaging Your Auditions!
    Mar 5 2026
    We’re gonna be talking more about auditions in March so it felt appropriate to re-release this article as a jumping off point. Enjoy!*Note: If you watch the video, keep in mind that it is from 2023, the year that I thought using cute GIFs to illustrate my points was the most brilliant idea ever for going viral on YouTube. Oh, Amy….I think we’re all grateful that I’ve moved on from that phase. 🤣Actor friends, listen up because there’s something that we need to stop doing in our auditions ASAP.We need to stop talking ourselves out of the role before we’ve even auditioned for it.“Oh, I’m not quite right for this. I don’t really play characters like this very well. They probably want somebody more...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”When we do this, we psych ourselves out completely and we basically are subconsciously saying to ourselves, “I can’t do this.” and then sure enough, our audition suffers.We put all of this distance in between us and the character.We kind of play at the character instead of fully investing and fully inhabiting them.We have a generic idea of what this person is supposed to be like, but we don’t bother getting into specifics because we feel like, “Oh, this isn’t really something that I do. It’s more over there and I’m more over here“ instead of creating a grounded, real person.I used to do this to myself all the time, but I have one story to tell you that really changed everything for me, where I consciously recognized that I did this to myself and I said, “No. No more. I’m stopping this pattern. I’m not doing this to myself anymore.”I got a series regular audition to play the mom of an 18-year-old.My history in Hollywood is always being told that I look very young, and that’s a great problem to have, but it can kind of mess with your mind as you’re starting to play characters that are actually your age.Of course, all the “old Amy patterns” showed up and I was going, “Oh, I’m probably too young for this” or “I don’t know if I really play moms very well” and that would have led me to back off of that performance and kind of keep it over there and I’m over here, right?Instead, because I was aware of this thought pattern that I have, I very consciously did everything that I could to convince myself that I was absolutely right for this role.I started saying stuff to myself like, “I could very easily, biologically, have a child this age. That’s not difficult.”I looked up the show and I realized that the character I would be playing the sibling of, we look very similar and I was like, “Oh, I could absolutely play that person’s sister, not a problem.”I am a mom. I tapped into all of that, my own life experience, which is exactly what we’re supposed to do as actors.I sold myself on how right I was for that role.And I sold myself on it so much that when my husband came in to read with me, we were reading the scene and he was like, “You’re doing great with this. I really like this character for you, like, this is awesome. I think you’re too young for this—”I cut him off immediately.And I was like, “No, no, no. I’m not too young for this. I am absolutely right for this because of X, Y, and Z.”I had convinced myself that I was right for this role so much that no one could talk me out of it.And that’s what I think we all need to do for every single role we audition for.When we get the audition, we are right for that role.In the end, it was a great tape. I was very proud of that tape. I was proud to submit it.It did not lead to a booking in the end, but it did lead to several additional auditions with that casting director and writing team, so I know that the work that I did in that self-tape is what was able to shine through, because I didn’t talk myself out of the role and I didn’t shy away from it.I didn’t pull back.I invested fully.I went all in on it by convincing myself that I was absolutely right for the role, even though I didn’t quite believe it to start.I did everything in my power to make myself realize, “No, this is my role right now. I’m going to do this. I’m going to make this mine.”The moment you get an audition, you are right for that role.While you’re working on that audition, that character’s yours. You got the part for the audition.How do you play sexy? How do you play confident? How do you play shy and weak?Whatever the role is that you think you’re not, what’s your version of that?Own your performance. Show your work. Build your reputation in this industry.That’s all we have to do at the end of the day.How are you right for this role?Ask yourself that question and I think you’re off to the races and your work is going to be better for it.And now, your moment of mindfulness…Get my Pre-Audition Focusing Meditation 🎧I’ve created a free meditation to help you get out of your head and into your character so that you can rock your next ...
    Más Menos
    5 m
  • How Do You Want To Feel As An Actor? Part 2

    How Do You Want To Feel As An Actor? Part 2
    Feb 26 2026

    Last week we talked about core desired feelings and you started figuring out how you want to feel as an actor as you engage in your career, in your craft, and in your life in general.

    This week, we’re going to do a guided audio exercise to help you explore and embody those feelings even more deeply.

    This type of work is meant to be fun and inspiring. You may get new ideas of actions to take in your career or how you can more fully enjoy your craft. You may reignite that magnetic pull of your goals and feel motivated in a whole new way. If nothing else, hopefully you get a fun and delightful day dream that tickles your imagination and makes you feel really good in your body.

    Grab your list of core desired feelings and let’s do this!

    Embodying Your Core Desired Feelings

    Pick one of the feelings from your list to work with in this guided session. Don’t worry, this recording is here for you so you can explore the embodiment of each of your core desired feelings in turn. For now, pick the juiciest one, the one that really lights you up.

    Welcome back. Hopefully that was a fun and informative exploration for your body and mind. Please use the recording again to explore the embodiment of your other core desired feelings.

    If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, give a one-time donation, or consider becoming a paid subscriber.

    I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor life.

    🎭 I’ve been a professional actress for almost 20 years. I’ve survived 3 industry shut downs - 2 strikes and 1 global pandemic. I’ve worked in TV, film, commercials, and produced my own award-winning web series.

    🧠 I’ve been a life coach for 5 years, specializing in mindfulness and neurolinguistic programming and helping people become more aware and focused on making positive changes in their lives.

    💖 I blend lived experience with powerful, proven coaching tools.

    🎢 Let’s get you feeling resilient, empowered, focused, playful, relaxed, confident, and riding the acting career roller coaster without throwing up! 🤗

    Community Zooms for Paid-Subscribers! 💻

    I’m offering exclusive Zoom sessions for paid subscribers. Support my on-going work and enjoy “office hours” with yours truly! Drop into a Zoom session to experience guided mindfulness and supportive, community-based mindset coaching.

    If you’re curious about mindset coaching, but saving for your next headshot session, this is a great way to get affordable access in a supportive, community environment.



    Get full access to The Aligned Actor at thealignedactor.substack.com/subscribe
    Más Menos
    19 m
  • How Do You Want to Feel As An Actor? Part 1

    How Do You Want to Feel As An Actor? Part 1
    Feb 19 2026
    Go to episode on Substack --> https://open.substack.com/pub/thealignedactor/p/how-do-you-want-to-feel-as-an-actorLet’s talk about goals.What are your goals for yourself as an actor? Maybe you want to be on a certain show, maybe you want to work with a certain director, maybe you just want to book more work — Hey, don’t we all?Goals are great, but you know what’s even better? Exploring the feelings behind our goals, because that’s where the real magic lies.Core Desired FeelingsIn her book, The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul, Danielle LaPorte talks about how one new year’s eve she and her partner decided to infuse their regular goal setting practice with feelings.She writes, “Instead of talking about external goals, we talked about how we wanted to feel in the various parts of our lives.” And goes on later to say, “We wrote out a bunch of positive feelings, and then we asked ourselves, ‘So what can we do to feel that way?’”They then adjusted their goals based on how they wanted to feel in their lives.Feelings Are What We Really WantUltimately, the only reason we want anything in life is because we believe that attaining that thing or having that experience is going to make us feel a certain way.For example, I want to be a recurring role on a fun TV show because I believe doing that work will feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent (stable/routine).If those are feelings I crave in my career, why not do whatever I can to feel that way and incorporate that energy into my career right now?There are TONS of ways to feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent! I don’t have to hold myself apart from those feelings just because I haven’t booked that part yet.I can feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent by…* Working regularly on monologues I love* Working on fun scenes with my actor friends* Attending an acting class regularly* Playing a board game with my son* Crocheting a Wooble (not a sponsor, I just love them!)* Writing my Substack* Filming and editing a reelSuddenly, I’m not waiting until I achieve my goal to feel how I want to feel. I’m cutting out the middle man and getting straight to the good stuff!And the more I focus on doing things that make me feel playful, creative, collaborative and consistent, the more I engage in my career in those ways too. I can literally infuse my career with those feelings and make tangible shifts in how I show up in my career.* I approach auditions and class scene work with the energy of those feelings.* I engage with my peers and colleagues in ways that align with those feelings.* I approach career decisions with those feelings as a guide. (Is this opportunity likely to get me one or more of my core desired feelings? If yes, great! Game on! Let’s do it! If not, probably a “No, thank you” is more in order.)I can honestly say that I feel playful, creative, collaborative, and consistent in my career, despite having never booked a recurring role on a fun TV show. Maybe I’ll achieve that goal at some point or maybe I won’t. Either way, I’ve gotten what I really wanted: My core desired feelings for my acting career!Let’s Explore Your Core Desired FeelingsIf you have a list of goals, you can follow my example above to figure out the feelings you associate with them and then brainstorm additionally ways to access those feelings.* How do you think it will feel to [insert your goal here]?* What are other things you could do to feel that way(s) more often in your life?You can also start with the feelings. Decide how you want to feel in different areas of your life and build goals around those feelings. Here’s a looooooooong list of feeling words and some questions about various areas of life to consider.* How do you want to feel as an actor?* How do you want to feel as you engage in your craft?* How do you want to feel as you engage in the business?* How do you want to feel in your body?* How do you want to feel in your living space?* How do you want to feel in your social life?* How do you want to feel at your day job?* How do you want to feel with your family, friends, and loved ones?Play around with these approaches and questions and come up with 3-5 core desired feelings for yourself.Again, everything comes back to how we want to feel, so spending some time musing on your goals and making sure they’re aligned with how you want to feel is really going to benefit you.It will activate motivation for your goals in a whole new way because you will know WHY you want them and what’s really driving you toward them. It may also lead you to discover some new goals that light you up like never before!If you found this article helpful or inspiring, I’d be honored if you’d leave a comment, share it with a pal, give a one-time donation, or consider becoming a paid subscriber.I’m a professional actor, a mindfulness and mindset coach, and I’m ready to help you thrive in your actor...
    Más Menos
    14 m