ACKNOWLEDGE AND DISMISS

 In Mindset

This is a little mindset trick that I’ve found to be very helpful in so many situations.

I use it when something is so annoyingly distracting that it keeps me from accomplishing the task at hand. For example I was on set and in my direct eye line was a grip standing there in a bright red plaid shirt. That bright colored shirt distracted me every time I spoke to the other actor. Wow, does that sound like a diva sort of thing or what!? But it’s a fact that visual things like that can temporarily throw us in the moment. That example might be a bit precious, but you get what I mean.

Visual things aren’t the only distractions that affect us. How about noise! Like when you’re in an audition and people or producers are whispering during your read. Love that one, right? Or even when you’re preparing for a role and there’s construction next door.

Basically anytime your attention is being diverted and it’s crucial to keep your focus, I simply Acknowledge and Dismiss. Acknowledge that something exists and dismiss it as being unimportant in this particular moment. Sounds too simple I know. But the alternative is to wish the annoyance wasn’t there/get unduly angry at the situation and all other sorts of time wasting reactions. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. But for some reason, acknowledge and dismiss seems to work every time. Hope it helps for you too.

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