Mindset is everything.

I have a full section dedicated to mindset in BEYOND THE TECHNIQUE.

Our industry perpetuates the mindset of scarcity and survival. Trust me, been there, done that, have ALL the t-shirts and I still have to be present in how I speak to myself because it takes a long time to release these.

So many things have come up during this Summer Olympics and the parallels between athlete and artist.

One of the main ones is mindset. Mindset & mental health go hand in hand.

How interesting that all college athletics not only have coaches that teach physical and game and sport skills, but they also have performance coaches, mindset & psychology coaches.

College performing arts programs have nothing of the kind. In fact, they are often saturated with the people who perpetuate the scarcity and survival and “exposure” mindset. Yes, I said it. If you have left your program(s) unscathed psychologically, you are one of the few.

If we are to be artistic athletes in our speciality, then we need to nurture, develop and come to terms with our mindset as much as we do our technique and our repertoire. They inform each other.

As an artist, developing and established, self-doubt is a big part of our being. This is what allows us to dig deeper and strive for more. HOWEVER, accepting scraps, taking abuse, relinquishing boundaries, is NOT acceptable. Feeling beholden to someone or something other than our own sense of self is NOT how to build a mindset that is full of abundance and truth.

Our industry seems to thrive on survival. “The starving artist” is almost seen as a badge of honor.

It is not.

If you do not claim what you do for what it is and stand proud in your accomplishment, your knowledge, your achievement, your capability, then no one will recognize it fully. You will continue to apologize, make excuses, make yourself smaller, feel guilt, ask for permission and the list goes on.

With a mindset of scarcity, and a mindset of survival, we become apologists for our unique and individual strengths. We second guess every decision we make. We become or heighten our people pleasing tendencies and suddenly we become last.

We take the scraps. We are made to feel like that’s all we deserve and we should be happy with that.

No more.

Demanding to be seen as the artist you are, and be treated thus, is not being difficult. It is not being full of yourself. It is not being egotistical.

But here’s the secret: if you don’t or can’t look in the mirror and demand it of yourself, then it’s very hard to let others see it too.

Mindset needs to be cultivated. It needs to be acknowledged. It needs to be forgiven.

You didn’t start out trying to be in survival-only mode. This was taught. And we all learned very well.

So now what?

Acknowledge it.

Give it a name.

There is NO BLAME.

How do you want to move from scarcity to abundance in your mindset? Where are your boundaries? How you access them?

Remember when Simon Biles dropped out of the Olympics? It wasn’t because of her talent or her skill. It was her mindset. She knew it, she knew her mental health needed priority and she made the decision then and there that she was not putting herself at risk for the possibility of being taken advantage of on many different levels by many different avenues.

And what did you she do before her big Gold Medal win last week? She had therapy. She worked on her mindset, on her spirit, on connection between her incredible ability and her power of mindset. And she won gold.

So, what are you going to do?

Big changes can be scary. Trust me, I get that. So, start small. Just start with the mirror. Even if you don’t believe it yet, speak it out loud.

Stay present in your self-speak. Don’t beat yourself up when you recognize a negative self-talk. Simply acknowledge and change the language.

Mindset is CRUCIAL to your life as an artist. It is crucial to your life as a human being.

Dare to challenge yourself as much in this arena as you do in the practice room.

with fondness & fierceness,