The Great Acting Blog: “Slay Those Dragons”
Sometimes, we develop an emotional attachment to a piece of work, or to a performance. Perhaps, for us, it was a real creative victory, perhaps we finally gave the kind of performance we always wanted to (maybe a situation not as common as we would like). We bask in our victory, we reflect on it, try to learn from it, but, ironically, rather than spurring us on, we become trapped, trapped in the ambivalence of not wanting to let the victory go but at the same time needing to move onto the next thing. And we end up accomplishing nothing.
The trap is really a barrier, which has been erected because a new expectation has arisen, that of success, and it creates a different kind of pressure: “can I deliver the goods again?” Or – “can I keep on delivering the goods?” Some entrench themselves in mediocrity, so that they never have to feel the pressure of self-expectancy, making up some excuse to limit themselves, or, going the other way, they posit for themselves a preposterous goal which they have no hope of attaining, then sit on the sidelines complaining. For others who have had the taste of triumph, once is enough, and they decide to live off the memory, settling for an altogether safer, middle-of-the-road existence.
For the small group of headbangers though, who want to taste some more of the good stuff, yes there is a period of melancholy after an accomplishment, but they quickly shake it off before seeking out new dragons to slay, the bigger and badder the better.
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