Welcome to the Actor’s Guide to the End of the World Podcast, Episode 93! Warning - we talk about our feelings this episode. Or in E-Kan’s case, lack of… We’re going deep on this one.
We start with a famous study on kids who loved drawing. One group was given a reward for their efforts, the other didn't. Guess which group eventually stopped drawing? This episode starts there — and turns it into a hard question for anyone chasing a creative career: are you doing this because you love it, or because you're chasing the reward? What happens when external validation makes you forget why you wanted to do it in the first place?
Then E-Kan and Rían dig into what "effortless" acting actually looks like on-camera, and why the second something feels performed, audiences can tell — even if they don't know why. Also a genius note from terrific photographer Matt Kallish that helped Rían during his headshot session.
The guys talk about meditation after Rían shares his experience at a Transcendental Meditation workshop, which leads to E-Kan's confession- he thinks “feelings are stupid” and even drops a Marcus Aurelius quote : “The happiness of life depends on the quality of your thoughts.” The guys then go into a deep discussion, do people and creatives get wrapped up in our feelings too much and as E-Kan puts it, "do more harm than good"?
Stick to the end and you’ll hear why visualization doesn’t actually work…unless you do one key thing.
You're not ready for this one, ya'll.
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@ekansoong @ríansheehykelly
Kid’s Drawing Study (Over-justification Effect)
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-overjustification-effect-2795386
https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/overjustification-effect
HIDDEN GEMS:
Mark Manson’s Solved Podcast (Confidence) -
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-build-confidence-solved/id1247526593?i=1000774972880
Oettingen study on Visualizations - https://www.simplypsychology.com/articles/visualization-techniques-psychology
Smell Scents - https://ausflowers.com.au/en-us?srsltid=AfmBOoqOdQFd_zx3UNCFeACVu0SPkK6eVmFllhyw_QKXypbcjlzlWs51
Time Stamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:08) Over-justification Effect
(05:07) Acting Industry is not a meritocracy
(06:11) Insights from a Great Headshot Photographer
(09:53) If it feels like acting, it’s off
(10:36) It’s never been about the money
(13:00) Actors don’t get paid to act, they get paid to wait
(13:47) Rían tries a transcendental meditation workshop
(18:15) Feelings are stupid
(22:07) You’ll never be able to control your emotions
(23:20) The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts
(25:20) E-Kan does have feelings
(27:50) Some actors are debilitated by their feelings
(29:40) Feelings are a byproduct of our thoughts
(31:30) Learning to not be pulled around by our feelings
(37:26) Aphantasia - When you can’t remember images, only feelings
(40:00) Hidden Gems
