Method acting, authenticity, and a hundred-dollar note...
Have you ever watched a movie and just been blown away by how well an actor was able to be the character they were portraying? How is this possible? Is it just divine inspiration and true giftedness or have they mastered the art of method acting? And what does this have to do with authenticity? I'll get to that in a minute.
What is method acting?
Lee Strasberg, the Father of Method acting in the USA, was looking for a way to train actors to give consistently great performances, where it appeared the actors were authentically re-experiencing the life they were portraying through the story. The Method trains actors to use their whole self (physical, mental, and emotional self) in the creation of a character.
Some greats in method acting include James Dean, Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix, Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hofman, Johnny Depp, and Charlize Theron, to name but a few. There is a danger to this. The immersion into a character can trigger emotional suffering as though they have experienced the trauma or the challenge of the character they are portraying. The emotional and physical distress can last long after the cameras stop rolling. Many actors have almost died while trying to portray a character as authentically as possible. Some have even received awards for their outstanding performances. They got approval for being someone they pretended to be. But, what did it cost them?
The limbic system in the brain cannot tell the difference between real and imagined experiences. The more vivid your imagination, the more likely your brain will believe it's real. But, it can cause us enormous amounts of suffering if you have imagined a trauma or incredibly challenging situation was yours.
What has this got to do with authenticity and a hundred-dollar note?
You hear it all the time these days, be authentic! Be yourself. And most of us want to. But, we seem to struggle against the little voice in our head whispering that we are not good enough, smart enough, or gorgeous enough. And so we try to be more like someone else, hoping that we'll feel enough then. We pretend. But that is a never-ending story...What if we have it all wrong? What if we're like the method actors, losing our true selves while trying to be like someone else and suffering needlessly?
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Imagine putting the same amount of focus and energy into being your authentic self.
How often do you find yourself thinking, ''I wish I was more like ''so-and-so''? What would your life be like, and how much less suffering might you experience if you never had that thought? What if you could be satisfied and content with being you?
Imagine you could recognize that you have value and worth just because you are alive. You exist. Therefore, you have value. You would never see a newborn baby and think to yourself that they have no value. Most of us would respond with a, ''how precious'' or something equally endearing. Why do you think you have lost value now that you're grown up? You were once a baby. Is a wrinkled-up, dirty hundred-dollar note less valuable than a crisp, brand-new note? No, it's still worth a hundred dollars!
The truth is no matter what you have done or what you have been through, you are still valuable. You are still worthy. You have a unique set of talents and gifts wrapped up in a unique personality that was there from the beginning. There is only one of you. If we use the scarcity principle to assign value, you are priceless, extremely rare, because there is only one of you.
Stop believing the lies. You don't need to be more like so-and-so... you just need to be you.
Embrace who you are. No, really... hug yourself. Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you are priceless because there is only one you! Your value does not change according to how you look, what you wear, or what you weigh! Those are temporary and external. Your value is in who you are, and what's inside you. It never changes, and is exempt from depreciation. Wisdom gained increases your value! You don't have to work at creating a character you are not. You can stop pretending. Redirect that energy and focus on being your true, authentic self. There's more freedom and less suffering!