Nothing stomps out
a dream or a goal you’ve set for yourself more than fear, not believing and
just plain not doing the work to accomplish it.
I recently had a flashback to when I
was in 5th grade and collaborated with two other classmates to write and
perform a play for a talent show contest. It was a silly little play, but I
remember it being great fun and we got a lot of laughs. We did NOT win,
but that’s okay! We did it and we showed
up.
So you might think I went on to
participate in other theatre ventures in my academic years. The answer to
that is...NOPE.
That silly little play never gave me the gumption to
participate in any other theatre opportunities nor did I ever try my hand at
writing another one.
I only discovered, just recently, into my midlife years that
this is where my soul has always been.
In the early years it was fear,
shyness and the lack of believing that kept me from doing anything about
it.
Maybe it wasn’t my time, yet. Maybe I was unclear of what I
wanted. Maybe I thought it was silly and out of my element.
Then life happened – making career choices, marriage and then being a mom. It literally took until I was 47 years old to audition for the first play I participated in. I wrote about that experience here at "The Audition - It's Never Too Late."
So what happened after this?
It shook the fear off and showed me if
you want something or want to shed light on a dream or goal you have to believe
and do the work.
Plain and simple. Shake the fear, believe in yourself and just
do the work.
In addition, pay attention to the clues that may be unfolding around you. It could be revealing your purpose and providing some new opportunities. Jump on those opportunities when you see them and then follow through. Just do the work. It may or may not amount to anything or maybe it WILL.
I recently had one of those clues unfold for
me. The idea is something I’ve been thinking about for a while and
it brought me back to that 5th grade talent show moment.
There’s a local community theatre that
holds an annual 10 Minute Play Festival
that is pretty highly regarded in the Minneapolis/St Paul theatre
community and every year they put out a request for playwrights and novice
writers to submit their 10 minute play scripts for the chance to be selected
for the festival.
Just like the acting opportunity
that jumped out at me, so has this opportunity. I decided to write my first 10
minute play and submit it for the festival. There are some firm guidelines to
follow, so I did my research (love Google), thought about my story idea, started writing and I’m proud to say I just wrote my first
script for a play.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but
the reality of getting to the finals is slim. Not being negative, just being
real. However, this process has taught me that it COULD happen. I
did the work and I will continue to keep writing and submitting.
You never know...it's possible that I'll see my
story go from the page and brought to life on the stage one day.
And…that’s a wrap from A Square Of Chocolate Productions. *wink*
What dream or goal have you been mulling over? Don’t stop believing!
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One More Thing Before You Go!
Well said as always Laurie! Isn't it great to "feed your dream?" The older we get the less we judge ourselves and there is a freedom in that as you have learned. Hope your play will be put on the stage either by the contest or someday by you!
ReplyDeleteThis project (dream) feels like a stretch, but you're right...at this age, there is a sense of freedom to just put it out there and see what sticks. Thanks for the encouragement, Anna!
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