Personal Propellant: Musings on Energy and Focus Levels, and How To Use Them

It’s officially summer!

For those of us who aren’t in YAP’s or pay-to-sings, the summer can be a time of recouping and regrouping.

You can use these long, lazy days to finally update your website, or to add or subtract a new aria from your audition package--or to start formulating your ‘artistic strategy’ for the coming year.

However you decide to utilize your time, I’d like to throw a note of caution into our tale:

Do not overplan.

I know, I know, this sounds completely contrary to my usual advice, but hear me out.

Sometimes, overplanning and meticulously detailing absolutely everything about your artistic endeavors can be a bad thing.

Overplanning can become cumbersome and awkward. It can weigh you down with details rather than allowing you to move forward. Overplanning can open the door to ‘perfectionism’, which will only discourage and dishearten you. Overplanning and meticulously scheduling every minute of every day can also lead to overstretching yourself.

Consider a can of spray paint: the can is small, but can weigh a lot due to the suppressed air pressure in the can. It is full of resources, potential and energy.

When someone decides to utilize it, it releases a powerful spray at first--but the longer it gets used, the less pressure is left in the can. Each resulting spray is less powerful than the last, resulting in a little less color. Instead of a single, effortless stroke full of color, you end up making two or three passes to reach the density of color you need...that’s a LOT more energy and focus than originally intended!

Eventually, the aerosol in the can will be completely extinguished. At the end of its life, there almost always remains a little paint in the can...but the user is unable to get to it. The propellant aerosol is all used up, and the leftover paint gets wasted.

That energetic, propellant force is more difficult to engineer than the actual stuff it’s ‘propelling’.

The same can be said for your energy, focus and enthusiasm.

Your personal energy levels are finite. No one can run at full capacity and focus 100% of the time without a break. Personal energy is volatile, powerful, and focused--but it doesn’t naturally last long. Singers are generally sprinters, not marathon runners. Even though we can sing for hours at a time, we generally still need a day to recuperate in between performances.

What does this mean for you?

You might not actually need more time to learn that new aria.

You might not really need to network more before you apply for an audition with your dream company.

You might not even need to move to an entirely new city, or to catch a lucky break.

It may be that the only tool you need to take your career to the ‘next level’ is to learn how to use your ‘personal propellant’--your energy and focus-- a little more wisely.

Take some time this summer to rest up and to strategize your upcoming audition season, with your own personal energy reserves in mind. Give yourself an ambitious plan that includes plenty of time to rest and reflect in between auditions and performances. Consider keeping a journal to jot down how you felt after each performance or audition--how were your energy levels and focus? What did you do beforehand to prepare, and what will you do afterwards to recoup so that you’re ready to nail the next one?