They say that the most important things are right in front of you. That can be easy to see at times, and hard to see at others. What is most important to you? Your family? Your hobbies? Your profession? Whatever you choose, it is not hard to see that thing in and around your life if you choose to focus on it. Sometimes, though, when we look at our own professional and personal development, it's easy to exclusively focus on the big picture, on the you that you want to see years from now. To be that you, it takes more than thinking about that person who is ten years away.
In this blog post, I wanted to look at myself, I wanted to look at the person who has been sure of where he is going in life for the last ten years and look at what he’s been doing to get there.
The inspiration for this post comes from a change I have recently made in my own life. For as long as I have known about higher education, I have wanted it. I’ve wanted to be an actor for just as long, which has meant a personal goal of getting a BFA and then an MFA in acting. In recent months as I have been working on my bachelor's here at BYU, I noticed a pattern in myself. Looking ahead to that goal of an MFA had skewed my vision. I knew that I wanted to get a Masters, and I knew that I wanted one from a great school, namely Yale. In order to go there, however, I told myself that I need a 4.0 GPA in my major. This is a goal that I have been able to keep to, but the problem here came when I noticed exactly what my goal was. I needed that 4.0, that was the goal. I needed that GPA so that I had the best chances of getting into Yale. But why did I want to go to Yale? I wanted to go to Yale so that I could become the best actor possible.
When I realized what my actual goal was, I had to take a look at myself. Was the work I was doing in my classes now making me a better actor, or was the work I was doing in my classes now getting me a good grade? While both could be true at the same time, up till now, it wasn’t. Yes I was learning techniques and skills, but I was not applying them in the best ways that I could, I was coasting on talent I had already had, to ensure I was getting good grades. The improvements to my acting could wait till my Masters, because that’s where I would actually learn. This is not, and should not be the case.
As this fall semester has started, I put a new goal in my mind. I want to take everything that I learn from my classes, and apply them to myself as an actor. I want to be the best actor that BYU has ever seen. By fulfilling this goal, will I get straight A’s, and will I get to Yale? Probably, and who knows. What I do know, is that by focusing on what I can do to improve myself now, I will be getting closer to that me that I want to be ten years from now every single day.
Yes, look at the big picture, who do you want to be? But then you need to ask yourself, what can I do here and now to get there. Because doing that thing right here and now is what will take you there.