The Power of Habit: Attaining Your Big Dreams

We live our life following almost the same routine every day. In the morning on our way to work, during lunch break, the mid-afternoon coffee break, to dinner with family or friends. We hardly notice it, but our daily life is consumed by our daily habits. It could be a good or bad thing, depending on how you decide to live with them.

If you are an aspiring actor, remember this: tardiness could be detrimental to your career. If you are so used to showing up late, it is only a matter of time before you get kicked out of the project.

COme to think of it, if you always get up late, resulting in being always late for school, you will most likely commit the same mistake when you get an acting job. When you are always late, there’s a big chance of you not being able to attend or complete an exam. If you keep that bad habit, by the end of school year, it is either you will graduate with low grades or, worse, fail. However if you have a good study habit from early on, you will have no problem finishing school.

But the thing is, even if you have a toxic habit, you can always ditch it anytime. It is never too late to start a positive one—and you will never regret it. Many successful individuals are able to reach their goals through the power of their constant productive habits.

No matter how small you think it is, if you let something be incorporated into your daily routine, it will be very effective. You can start by forming healthy lifestyle habits.

Have you heard of the saying “You are what you eat”? As an actor, a healthy lifestyle has a huge impact on your career. Whatever you consume reflects on your physical appearance. That’s how important health is for everyone in the entertainment industry. If possible, you should avoid sugar, tobacco, and too much alcohol, and try cutting down your daily consumption of gluten, dairy, and caffeine.

Of course you are all aware of the negative effects of alcohol to your physical, mental, and emotional health. Though it has a temporary positive impact on your mood, its long-term effects include depression, anxiety, and memory loss.

Caffeine,on one hand, has been the subject of several studies, and the conclusions are the same—it is being linked to anxiety and insomnia. Aside from that, caffeine as well as tobacco are stimulants that can cause panic and anxiety.

Sugar is another stimulant that has harmful effects on your metabolism and is partly responsible for all sorts of illnesses. When you have an excessive intake of sugar, it can cause a massive change in your insulin level and could lead to anxiety and depression. Gluten, like any other grains, is difficult to digest. The jelly-like buildup of the gluten protein in your system can also bring anxiety problems, while dairy products are being linked to inflammation in the body.

It’s understandable if most of you have difficulty in scratching products containing these ingredients off your diet, especially sugar, which is almost as addictive as heroin. But just keep in mind that totally avoiding those will have a positive effect on your health and could help you succeed in your career.

Another constructive habit that you should build is to have a complete sleep. We all know how important sleep is particularly for actors. In your chosen career, you need as much sleep as you can because it plays a vital role especially if you’re a newbie and still on the phase of learning and trying to get used to your environment.

Not having enough sleep can lead to cognitive problems such as reduced concentration, attention, sharpness, reasoning, and problem solving. It means lack of sleep will decrease your ability to learn efficiently. These problems can certainly affect your audition or your performance as an actor. If you can’t give your 100 percent in your audition, in whatever profession you are in, you will be in a bad situation.

Another very obvious effect of not having enough sleep is the tired, puffy eyes, and the dull skin, which all can affect your appearance and we all know how an actor’s looks are very important for casting directors.

So don’t underestimate the power of practicing good habits. You can apply it to almost all aspects of your life and can bring you to great success. Never doubt it. Just do it slowly and consistently—until they become part of your daily routine.