Last night I was at a bar in San Francisco, on a roof-top overlooking the city. I was with two young actors about to begin their careers. We started to talk about what might be possible in their futures. Very quickly, it became clear that most of what they were focusing on was beliefs: “I’m not skinny enough,” “I not the right ethnicity,” and “I’m not the right type.”
So much effort and energy was being spent on these beliefs that contradicted what they appeared to be choosing from life. I spent some time supporting them in discovering that these beliefs are just thoughts that have been taken seriously. Thoughts are just concepts that pass through the mind. Thoughts have no inherent basis in reality.
“They think I’m a crap actor!” is a thought. This is so arrogant! They’re not even thinking about you. If they’re caught up in thoughts, then they will be thoughts about themselves, thoughts like “I’m so good at this!” or “I’m better than him!” Their process of suffering and self-limiting has nothing to do with you. Your thoughts have nothing to do with you either.
It’s not necessary to find counter-examples to disprove the veracity of thoughts. For example, saying, “Well, look at Lena Dunham, she’s successful in spite of everything,” will only lead down a rabbit-hole spiral of beliefs and counter-beliefs. To discover the creative freedom…
