"You don't want it bad enough..."

Why rest feels terrifying to actors.

Apr 16, 2026

I’m writing this post from bed because I am turning this publication into an OnlyFans. JK. 🤣

In actuality, I am a little under the weather at the moment and as I was resting — Okay fine I was making tweaks to my Substack, so not really resting — I got an idea for a post:

Rest feels dangerous to actors.

We’re literally scared to stop.

Why?

Because there is always SOMETHING we could be doing to further our careers.

• Practicing our self tapes

• Working out

• Attending a casting director workshop

• Attending a class

• Switching out our headhsots

• Picking looks for our next batch of headshots

• Updating our reel

• Cutting our reel into bitesized clips

• Writing our own script

• Filming a short with our friends

• Self-submitting on Actors Access (and all the other sites)

• Reaching out to other industry professionals

• Researching and watching all the movies and shows

…and so and so forth…forever and ever…and…EVER…

And if we are not doing something to further our acting careers…

Then we must not want it bad enough to deserve it.

That’s the sneaky, secret thought that keeps us hustling and grinding and too scared to rest.

But the whole notion of “wanting it bad enough” is ridiculous anyway.

Allow me to demonstrate by replacing “acting career” with “cookie” — because who doesn’t want a cookie?

How badly do you want a cookie?

• Bad enough to walk to the cupboard?

• Bad enough to drive to the store?

• Bad enough to travel across your city, state, country, or the entire world?

• Bad enough to go into space?

• Bad enough to sacrifice all other food for the rest of your life?

• Bad enough to never see your family again?

• Bad enough to give up acting? (see what I did there?)

Sure. Maybe you’d drive across town for a really good cookie, but the rest of these hypotheticals just end up sounding goofy.

No one wants a cookie THAT badly.

I’m not giving up my WHOLE HUMAN LIFE for a cookie.

And yet, that’s what we start to expect of ourselves when it comes to our acting careers.

That’s why we feel scare to rest.

But we need to rest.

Rest allows us to recharge and get ready for whatever is next.

So we need to ditch the idea that anything less than 27/7/365 hustle and grind means we don’t want it bad enough.

We want it and we’re doing it. FULL STOP.

And we must rest and live our lives as we’re doing it.

That’s why I talk about actor life, not just acting career.

You’re an actor.

You have a career AND you have a life.

You have an actor FULL life.

Don’t give that up for anything.

So I’m going to go back to resting and recovering from whatever the heck this is and I will see you next time.