Motivation
As I sat down today to tackle 'little wonders' about my practice again, I began by asking myself what does my practice look like today? As someone living in the UK in lockdown at the moment, it's not a particularly buzzing practice! My daily routine generally consists of morning yoga or a run and a stretch. Then I usually go straight to the laptop for either work or study. When I can find the time, I also experiment with my new voice over equipment which is very complicated but fun and rewarding. And after that, let's face it, it's straight to Netflix!
I think one of my biggest challenges as a performer at the moment is motivation. Trying to remain motivated, inspired and keep morale high when we have no idea when our industry will be resuscitated or what it will look like is a tall order. I know many performers who have done amazing creative things during this pandemic; written screenplays, performed in poetry competitions, countless Zoom plays, started online workshops! On the other hand I also know performers who have lost amazing jobs due to restrictions or who have gravitated towards more stable careers and distanced themselves from performing arts, which is a very understandable move. Personally I have struggled with remaining inspired. Starting this course kick started my creativity again after the first lockdown, and since then I have tried to get back to doing what I love, mostly from the comfort of my laptop. But it's not smooth sailing all the time.
This has made me wonder if motivation could be a potential inquiry topic. More specifically, holding onto motivation. One of my areas of learning from module one was that I need to stay creative to have a hope of keeping motivated. I think this can be a challenge even in normal times and so is worth investigating and learning more about.
I'd love to know people's thoughts on this! x
Hi Shelley, I could really relate to this and your previous post. For sure as dancers, we haven't chosen easy careers. Even during a time like this when we have all the time in the world to do whatever we want, some of us (including me) struggle to find motivation to be creative. It's such an interesting topic because as you have said, many people have achieved so much during lockdown. It would be very interesting to know what truly motivates people. But I also think that living during a pandemic is so draining so we can't be too hard on ourselves. I look forward to reading your next blogs x
ReplyDeleteThanks Alice! I definitely agree with you there, it's important not to compare your own individual lockdown experience with anyone else's as there are SO many different factors at play and we can't be too hard on ourselves. Look forward to reading your blogs too! x
DeleteHey Shelley! Lush blog, think it is a really interesting topic that you want to research about. Motivation is hard and I think this year has been incredibly hard to not compare yourself to others. First and foremost, if you are in any doubt that you are not enough, you are MORE than enough, your average day sounds great, getting that bit of exercise in, doing this course and then chilling with netflix is perfect for this time.
ReplyDeleteI think motivation in the performing arts is definitely stemmed right from training, with the element of competition added by teachers, are you motivated to work harder? Compete against others? Be the best that you be? I know loads of performers that have doubted their career paths during this lockdown and are thinking that they want a change now. I've definitely struggled with the motivation to pursue online classes, look forward to discussing more. Rhi x
Hi Rhian, and thank you! I think I should write 'you are enough' up on my fridge because I need to remind myself so often during this. It's interesting that you mention training as a place motivation stems from, I hadn't thought of that before! It's a great point- before I graduated we had talks from our different tutors giving us advice for the tough road ahead and I still look back to those notes sometimes when I feel like I've hit a brick wall. The online classes can be odd, especially if you're connection is poor- I had a hilariously out of time online Ballet class and I was completely put off trying it again in lockdown. X
DeleteI don't think I could relate any more to this at the moment if I tried! I go through the daily rollercoaster of 'sticking it out' and 'throwing the towel in'. I know in my heart of hearts performing is at my very core - and I don't think anything will give me the same buzz.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time I feel old (although I am only 27) and out of touch with our industry, during this pandemic we will have seen two cycles of graduates if not three (although I am praying that by September we will be on the home stretch). The thought crosses my mind daily that I should be looking for the 'steady job' right about now because by the time things pick up I will have reached that point in my 'plan'.
I don't know what the right answer is - if there even is one, and I am thinking about exploring career transition and retirement as a possible inquiry topic to help me get a better feel for my own current situation. But for now I'm trying to take each day as it comes, and continuing to tell me self that whatever I do with my day - whether I create some choreography, write a blog or binge watch telly all day - that its enough and I''m doing great! xx
You are doing great! Honestly, I think we're all struggling and giving ourselves a hard time when we shouldn't at the moment, myself 100% included. I really curious what do you mean by your 'plan'? I know I always think to myself that I want to be at X point in my career by Y age or else I should throw in the towel. But at the end of the day I don't honestly think I'll ever reach that equation because even if everyone tells me I'm crap, I can still see myself getting prepped for auditions at 80+ because I just love performing. But like you say, a steady job is very very tempting! And depending on my drive level that day, my opinion changes! X
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