Words Meryl Streep Lives by, or How I’m Feeling More and More + The Outreach Episode 3: Snitches Get Riches


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Words to live by,… or how I’m feeling more and more….

http://blogs.indiewire.com/bent/let-meryl-streeps-wise-words-usher-you-into-september-20140901

by José Micard Teixeira

“I no longer have patience for certain things, not because I’ve become arrogant, but simply because I reached a point in my life where I do not want to waste more time with what displeases me or hurts me. I have no patience for cynicism, excessive criticism and demands of any nature. I lost the will to please those who do not like me, to love those who do not love me and to smile at those who do not want to smile at me. I no longer spend a single minute on those who lie or want to manipulate. I decided not to coexist anymore with pretense, hypocrisy, dishonesty and cheap praise. I do not tolerate selective erudition nor academic arrogance. I do not adjust either to popular gossiping. I hate conflict and comparisons. I believe in a world of opposites and that’s why I avoid people with rigid and inflexible personalities. In friendship I dislike the lack of loyalty and betrayal. I do not get along with those who do not know how to give a compliment or a word of encouragement. Exaggerations bore me and I have difficulty accepting those who do not like animals. And on top of everything I have no patience for anyone who does not deserve my patience.” 

Isn’t that great.  Apparently, those are words Meryl Streep lives by,..

For me, it’s all about not wasting our mental energy on certain things in life.  Things that are toxic to us.

There are certain things in life that are unavoidable or uncontrollable.  You can’t really control what others think, or what they do necessarily.  You can barely control what YOU feel.  But, atleast with our own feelings, even though sometimes we can’t help but feel a certain way, We CAN try to change how we feel, by adopting a different perspective, attitude or focus.  And despite having tried ALL life to change, negative thoughts always seem to make it to the back of your brain, programmed in there.

Things such as fear.  We all have things we fear.  Some fears we should have, those that protect us from physical harm for example.  Those could be good to listen to.  Sometimes, fear is there to protect us from emotional pain.  Ok.  But often, fear is just our insecurities talking us out of doing something that would be good for us.  Though we can fight it, sometimes it’s there anyway.  So don’t fight it.  Thing is, if you KNOW it’s going to be there, and it’s only there to stop you, but you should go on with whatever it is you’re afraid of anyway.  Don’t waste your time with it.  If you know in the end you should do something, just do it.  Ignore the fear, or embrace it, either way, accept that it’s there, you know, you don’t need to dwell on it and beat it over your head.  Sure, maybe you think about it a little, but don’t do it for long.  Just enough to know if the fear is legitimate.  If it’s not, then, just say ‘YES,’ and leave it at that.  Move on, more forward with that decision.  Don’t go back now and focus on the fear, on what it relates to, and how it feels to fail.  WHY!  Why do that,…  sure we don’t want those feelings, but after you say yes,.. commit, fuck the noise, they’re just distractions.  Now is the time to focus on doing what you need to do.

For me I apply this in anything creative that I’m afraid to do.  Maybe it’s an acting gig, an audition, an opportunity to do something I’ve never done before, like direct, or produce, or someone asking me to speak at a commencement ceremony, or to write something.  Sometimes, it can be just a fear of competition, and the fear of being seen as incompetent.  Being seen as the failure that I fear I am.  As an actor, maybe I’m afraid of a commitment to a role or project, or the role itself and afraid of delivering a horrible performance,.. Whatever it is, all of it, comes from my fear of what others may think.  Sure, sometimes I REALLY am just horrible, and I know it, so I think it too, ha ha.  BUT, the point is to do it, trust yourself, fight through whatever those fears are.  If you believe you can do better, then you CAN.  If you don’t,.. well, that makes it harder doesn’t it?  There’s a reason why you want to do what it is you want to do.  There is a reason why you have this dream.  You KNOW you CAN do it, but you’re afraid to fail.  And you know what, you might.  And I HAVE.  And you just have to move on to the next audition, or the next performance.  There’s no time for that negative energy to be there afterwards.  Holding on to it so that I can beat myself up won’t help me to try again and be better because it WILL sabotage me, and make me fail, like I expected to in the back of my head.  It won’t help with my confidence in my abilities.  If you want to be something,… to be an actor, act.  If you want to be a writer, write.  And fail.  But just do it.  Your fears may never go away, or maybe they will over time, but if you let your fear stop you, you will NEVER be what you want to be.


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THE OUTREACH – ​ EPISODE 3: SNITCHES GET RICHES
Essie attempts to monetize whistleblowing on workplace corruption while Rosie stumps for her own upsetting charity.

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