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My
love of art and drama began very early – in fact, it was always there. I grew
up in an artistic family where creative ways of approaching everything in life
was the norm. All of us Nebletts
loved and participated in all things artistic, and each of us chose myriad ways
of expressing ourselves within all the arts provided.
As we grew and selected our preferences – whether music, visual arts,
drama or combinations of them, I became aware that creativity in people is
simply a way of approaching life – and that ”talent” is a certain
predisposition to an art form that is developed by a real commitment to
exercising the craft of that art form.
As
I matured and emotions came more into play, I became increasingly frustrated
when they overwhelmed even my greatest pursuits.
Conversely, the times when I could channel them to my purposes, I knew
the greatest freedom I had ever known. At
one point, I received counseling for depression, first individually and then
within a group framework, reinforcing an awareness that our ability to channel
our emotions rather than suppressing them was paramount to success in our lives.
Freedom
– the freeing up and control of the passions within!
How
about regarding various emotions as energy, and behaviors as
“muscles” ready to be built up, toned,
and stretched to enhance your life and bring you to a new level of
creative health and well being? And
then develop a series of mental, emotional and physical exercises to strengthen
these behavioral muscles, enabling you to control and utilize emotional energy
effectively and creatively.
Many
years ago I began a methodology to do just that.
Because
I had chosen acting as my art form, my first techniques were applied to the
development of my acting talent. Soon,
however, I reached a point in the craft where I realized that in order to truly
work it, I needed to recognize and control my weaknesses.
What was I to do about my shyness, procrastination, insecurity, etc.?
They were holding me back. Progressively,
I began to develop prescribed exercises to
confront and treat specific problem areas.
At
that time, I was working as a personal trainer to supplement my income.
Gradually, I realized that the exercises I was using in all these
different avenues, counseling, physical training, and acting, weren’t really
different at all. I began adapting
the various exercises that worked in one avenue for another.
For
example, let’s say shyness within the context of acting is like a weak forearm
in the context of tennis. Now, let’s say you really want to play tennis but your
forearm is weak. Would you go out
and play a tennis tournament and berate yourself for losing? Would you go to a tennis class and criticize yourself for
having the weakest forearm there? Or
would you simply find an exercise that strengthens the forearm and then do it?
Okay,
next, let’s say you just can’t seem to make yourself work out?
Should you beat yourself up? Should
you just quit? Or should you get a
personal trainer? Which is more
effective? Which will get you on
that tennis court?
Now,
back to shyness within the context of acting.
What muscle is weak? Replace
the weakness, “shyness” with its strength, antonym, to find the weak muscle.
In this case, it’s “boldness.”
Now, let’s say you really want to act but your boldness is weak.
Do you do a play and berate yourself for not going as far as you thought
you should? Do you take a class and
criticize yourself for your lack of boldness?
Or do you find an exercise that strengthens boldness and then do it?
Okay,
next, let’s say you just can’t seem to make yourself
work out? Should you beat
yourself up? Should you just quit?
Or should you get a personal trainer?
Which is more effective? Which
will get you on that acting stage?
My
series of mental, emotional and physical exercises strengthens specific
behavioral muscles, enabling you to control and utilize emotional energy
effectively and creatively. As
a creative coach, I am the personal trainer who helps you, the artist, become
the emotional athlete you need to be for fulfilling self expression.
Kim
Neblett
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