Are you exhausted? Or empty? (No, Kara, I'm all good...)
Oh, hi friends!
Last night I went to a developmental reading of one of my short plays.
And during the 15-minute performance by two hilarious actors, I remembered…
Oh, right, this is it.
This is what makes me feel mentally exhausted but not creatively empty.
Exhausted in the “I want to give this my best” way. Change this line, fix that joke, etc.
I’ve had jobs that left me completely exhausted at the end of the day. You know the ones. They squeeze your brain like a sponge.
But those jobs also made me feel creatively bankrupt. I could never find fuel for the next day.
Watching and wanting to improve the play was the kind of project that exhausts you because you are trying so hard. But it still fills up your creativity tank. It makes you want to show up tomorrow. And so you do.
I want to hold on to that reminder.
PS — Happy birthday to my sweet darling Mom! There’s no one more loved than you!
“One of the most vulnerable moments is when a biathlete has hit four targets and is about to take the last shot. ‘If I hit this, I’ll win the gold medal’ — as soon as you have that thought, you’re definitely going to miss it,’ Egan says. ‘That extra push or desire to win is not only not helpful, it’s counterproductive. You have to eliminate that from your mind and focus on the task.”
I loved this New York Times story about how Olympic biathletes manage stress when they’re cross-country skiing *and* shooting rifles. Instead of focusing on the shiny gold medal, you have to focus on the task at hand. (h/t Lesley Alderman)
This song “Fearless” by Mandy Gonzalez came on my Spotify shuffle and immediately hooked my little eardrums. Just something about it. Turns out it was written by Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda! Of course. Good afternoon jam. Give it a listen.
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara