Showing up vs Showing off

Notice the differences between your practice when you feel like you are in a comparative mindset.  Are you showing up, or are you showing off?

Showing off is all about your ego, with you as the center of your mindset. You are in the future mindset with angst or arrogance. This is where you find yourself trying to prove something to other people, gain validation from their attention. This is where you are trying to be “the best”, “the prettiest”, “the coolest” instead of trying to do the work of expressing all the original expression only you can do.

In contrast, by showing up, you connect with yourself authentically as you are right now. The quality of your work changes when you can be with yourself because you can connect with others. When you are showing up, you’ll find yourself able to listen, as you have already learned to listen to yourself. When you’ve stopped trying to prove yourself to others, you can slow down and turn your attention outwards and hear what the world needs from you.

We artists need to promote ourselves consistently to be able to sell our work. Taking photos and videos, writing bios and promotion packages then creating perfection on stage. There is an enormous focus on our egos because we are the product we are selling. We sell our image and our moves. Showing off is an easy trap to fall into in the business.

Yet, the other side to this line of thinking is that what we are really showing is the work we do on ourselves. Our ability to be authentic is the key to how we show up. Showing up means we are mirrors and conductors of energy, reflecting back the emotions and spirit that the world gives to us. We triangulate the power of the crowd, allowing it to pass through us and back to them again. We are here to lift others up. We are here to inspire them. We allow them to know that they are capable of doing what we do – if they only took the time to learn as well.

Our jobs as performers is to give every bit of energy back that is given to us, amplified tenfold. We are only capable of doing this if we show up.