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When the Pressure is Too Much

from The Being On Stage Podcast

10m 5s

When the Pressure is Too Much

In this episode of the Being On Stage podcast, host Reggie Dawson speaks directly to performers of all kinds about the intense pressure they face when trying to reach a certain level on stage. He acknowledges that pressure can come from others or from within, and that every performer will eventually struggle with focus, doubt, and the feeling that they are not progressing despite relentless effort. Dawson describes performers who rehearse two to three times a day for hours at a time, sometimes four to ten hours daily, seven days a week without breaks, driven by the need to achieve a specific standard. He praises that tenacity and drive as qualities all performers need, but he warns that when self-imposed expectations become too high, performers can lose hope, faith in themselves, and even question why they are pursuing their craft at all. His central message is simple but powerful: it is okay to take a break. He clarifies that he does not mean months off, but rather a day or so to step back and recharge. After that short rest, performers should return to their work and keep on shining. The episode encourages balance between dedication and self-care.

Transcription

431 Words, 2321 Characters

English
Speaker 1Shut up and sit down. Welcome to Being On Stage, the only podcast that gives you motivation, inspiration, and confidence to be better on stage. No matter how you entertain, sing, dance, band, comedian, public speaking, MC, drag, burlesque, performance art, or street performer, this is the show for you. Hey, rock stars. Welcome back to the Being On Stage podcast. I'm Reggie Dawson. Have you ever felt just pressure? Pressure to perform at a certain level when you're on stage? Pressure to achieve a certain skill? Pressure to learn something? Just so much pressure. Sometimes other people put pressure on you. Sometimes you're putting pressure on yourself. You expect yourself to be at a certain level, and you're struggling. It happens to all of us. Every single person that steps on that stage is going to have a point when they go through a struggle. And I'm not talking about life struggles. I'm talking just plain old, like, you're struggling to focus. You feel like you're never going to get to the point that you want to be, and you keep working at it and working at it and working at it no matter what you do. You know, you're doing it. You're practicing and rehearsing, you know, two and three times a day, two to three hours a pop. You're going at it for, you know, anywhere from four to ten hours a day, every day, seven days a week, no breaks, because you have to be at that certain level. You have to make it to a certain point. And I admire that. I do. I really do. That is tenacity. That is drive. That is what all of us, you know, that's what all of us need to have. When you reach the point, though, that the pressure and the expectations that you place on yourself, is too high. That's when you can start to feel, I don't know, you can just feel like it's never going to happen. You feel like there's no point. You start losing hope and everything, and you start losing faith in yourself. Sometimes you start questioning why you're doing something because you feel like you're just not going to get there. And one of the things I want to tell you, and this is something that everybody needs to hear, so here it goes. It's okay to take a break. And I'm not talking two, three months. I'm talking, you know, I'm not talking two, three months. take a break from that for a day or so. And keep on shining.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The Being On Stage podcast offers motivation, inspiration, and confidence for all types of performers, including singers, dancers, comedians, public speakers, MCs, drag artists, and street performers.
  2. Host Reggie Dawson addresses the pressure performers feel to achieve certain skill levels or performance standards on stage.
  3. Pressure can come from external sources like other people or from internal sources like self-imposed expectations.
  4. Every performer will experience struggle at some point, including difficulty focusing and feeling like they will never reach their goals.
  5. Some performers practice excessively, up to four to ten hours a day, seven days a week, without breaks, driven by the need to reach a certain level.
  6. Dawson admires that tenacity and drive but warns that overly high self-imposed pressure can lead to hopelessness and loss of faith in oneself.
  7. When pressure becomes too intense, performers may question why they continue pursuing their craft.
  8. Dawson's key message is that it is okay to take a short break, just a day or so, and then keep going.

Summary:

In this episode of the Being On Stage podcast, host Reggie Dawson speaks directly to performers of all kinds about the intense pressure they face when trying to reach a certain level on stage. He acknowledges that pressure can come from others or from within, and that every performer will eventually struggle with focus, doubt, and the feeling that they are not progressing despite relentless effort. Dawson describes performers who rehearse two to three times a day for hours at a time, sometimes four to ten hours daily, seven days a week without breaks, driven by the need to achieve a specific standard.

He praises that tenacity and drive as qualities all performers need, but he warns that when self-imposed expectations become too high, performers can lose hope, faith in themselves, and even question why they are pursuing their craft at all. His central message is simple but powerful: it is okay to take a break. He clarifies that he does not mean months off, but rather a day or so to step back and recharge.

After that short rest, performers should return to their work and keep on shining. The episode encourages balance between dedication and self-care.

FAQs

It provides motivation, inspiration, and confidence to help performers be better on stage. It is for entertainers of all types, including singers, dancers, comedians, public speakers, MCs, drag artists, burlesque performers, performance artists, and street performers.

The host is Reggie Dawson.

Performers often feel pressure to perform at a certain level, achieve a certain skill, or learn something. This pressure can come from other people or from themselves.

Yes. Every person who steps on stage will go through a struggle at some point.

He means struggling to focus and feeling like you will never reach the level you want, even while continuing to work hard.

It is okay to take a break. He suggests taking a short break, such as a day or so, rather than a long one.

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Transcription

431 words