Mindset for Actors – Managing Stress and Planning Ahead
The holidays can be so magical — your neighborhood aglow with Christmas lights, the parties, the feasts, the radio switching over to holiday music!
But that can also be a bit . . . overstimulating? Plus add in the end-of-year responsibilities, the extra financial pressure with that gift list, the zipping around to get everything done.
You may feel in all that festive mayhem that your acting craft goes out the window!
But it doesn’t have to. Here’s the truth: A grounded mindset is one of the strongest tools an actor can have—especially during the holidays.
Learning to regulate stress and stay present is vital—both for your acting and your life. AND it will help you enter the New Year not in survival mode . . . but in actor mode. Focused. Strong. Clear. Ready. Like a ninja. An actor ninja. You get the idea.
When you approach your auditions, training, and goals with a calm, creative nervous system instead of burnout— that’s what truly moves your craft forward.
So let’s look at stress management . . .
Stress Management is Actor Training
Learning to relax so our creativity can flow is a huge part of actor training. As actors our instrument is us. Our body, voice, breath, behavior, thinking, feelings, et al. When we leave stressed unchecked our ribs tighten, our breath collapses, our thinking fogs, and we are pulled out of our truth. It becomes harder to act, harder to imagine, harder to listen… and harder to trust yourself.
Did you know that downtime during the holidays is the perfect time to reset your mindset? Yup. Instead of binging Hallmark movies or fretting over the gifts you wanted but didn’t get, you can use that extra time to rethink your thinking. You can pause, reflect, and prepare. When you do clarity is ensured and breakthroughs begin.
And some of the results could be:
- Your nervous system becomes more available for acting.
- Your imagination wakes back up.
- You start 2026 grounded instead of scrambled.
- You have the mental space to make intentional choices — in your life and in your craft.
And this is exactly where AIAC steps in.
How AIAC Helps Actors Build a Strong Mindset
AIAC training isn’t just about producing truthful behavior on camera or mastering strong scene study. It’s about building a sustainable actor lifestyle — one that supports your nervous system, your creativity, your discipline, and your long-term mental health.
Here’s a couple of tools we use to get things back on track when life gets in the way. You might want to try them and see if they help quell your overwhelm and give you that edge for success:
Breathing Breaks: Set an alarm for 2 mins three times a day. Maybe morning, afternoon and evening. Stop everything and do some “box breathing.” That is breath in for count of 4, hold for count of 4, breathe out for 4, and hold for 4. Or some variation of that which makes you feel good. Doing this for two mins straight will clear your mind and reset your body. It also will help the microbes in your gut! I know, crazy. But it does. And if you didn’t know, good gut health helps tremendously with stress.
Make A Plan: Pick your top three goals for your acting for the next three months. And then break them down into actionable tactics for each month. Then break the month tactics down to weekly doable actions. Put them on a calendar or in a planner and get to work! Pro tip: Get an accountability partner you can check in with about them. And plan a party to celebrate when you’re done.
Physicalize: Get moving! Go for a short walk. Do some push-ups, sit ups, or jumping jacks. Stretch your body. Do a quick yoga pose. Feel your feet on the ground, you seat in the chair. Do some voice work if you know how to. You get the idea. Getting into our bodies gets us out of our heads. When we’re stressed we tense up and get squeezed up into our heads, we’re no longer connected to the world around us. And that is bad news bears for actors! We need to DO something to get reconnected with our physicality. Practicing this often will really help calm you down and keep you connected.
If you want to learn more ways to reset your mindset join us in class, because we’ve got a ton! Our classes, online curriculum, and individual coaching give you practical tools to re-center your focus and create a plan that fuels your acting career—not drains it.
Success Story: Starting the Year Strong
One of our actors walked into January last year with a simple, clear plan. She wanted to up her auditioning game. So she committed to doing three auditions a week. Either ones from her Salt Lake agent or that she found online or even just “mock” auditions she did on her own.
The idea was to get herself conditioned to that level of work. So she dove in. It wasn’t a month later that she started noticing something, not only were her auditioning skills getting KILLER, but the “universe” started sending her more and more auditions. She looked back at her tracker and saw she was up 50% in auditions received from the year before.
And she started getting tons of callbacks. More than she ever had. She ended up booking a commercial with a company she’d auditioned for over and over, plus several other projects. Not to mention later that summer she got signed by a fabulous LA Agent.
And it all started with a plan.
This is what happens when you combine technique with mindset and structure.
AIAC’s Holistic Approach to Actor Training
At AIAC, we train the whole actor — not just the craft.
Our program blends:
Technique
Verb work, Lessac body-voice, Effort Shape, scene study, on-camera training, audition mastery.
Mindset
Stress management, emotional muscle development, sustainable habits, actor-life balance, goal clarity.
Career Preparation
Self-tape excellence, business skills, global acting opportunities, professional growth strategy.
We weave goal-setting, reflection, emotional grounding, and personal development into our training calendar so actors don’t just get better — they evolve.
Whether you’re joining us from Utah, LA, New York, Atlanta, London, Canada, Australia, or anywhere in the world, AIAC gives you the support and structure you need to thrive all year long.
Learn more about our training. www.actorsinactionconservatory.com
