Go For Goals, NOT Results.

I was coaching a student recently and we discussed the difference between being goal oriented and results oriented. We talked about how striving for results can really limit us, because you either get that specific result or you feel like you got nothing at all. But when you move toward a goal, you stay open minded along the way. You’re available for other experiences and opportunities that show up unexpectedly, sometimes ones that are even more exciting or beneficial than the result you originally thought you wanted.

This is especially true for actors, because we often slip into being results oriented without realizing it. It usually creeps in during busy audition periods, when your brain starts running the familiar track of “book the job,” “get the callback,” “impress the casting director,” or “finally sign with that agent.” Suddenly your entire sense of progress depends on one very specific outcome. If it happens, you celebrate. If it doesn’t, it feels like failure, even if you actually did strong, brave, grounded work.

But being goal oriented is a totally different experience. It’s like pointing yourself in a direction instead of obsessing over a single finish line. Your goals might be to deepen emotional truth, build stronger habits, make bolder choices, or finally develop a warm up routine that doesn’t depend entirely on caffeine and panic. These goals create forward motion without trapping you in a narrow definition of what “success” looks like.

And the best part is that when you stay goal oriented, the whole journey opens up. You may walk into an audition thinking the win is booking the job, but by staying focused on your goals, you become available for all kinds of unexpected victories. Maybe you make a memorable impression that lands you a different role months later. Maybe you discover a new layer in your craft. Maybe the director sees something in you that even you didn’t know was there. When you’re oriented toward goals, all of that counts.

But when you’re results oriented, those same moments feel irrelevant. If you didn’t get the one result you were chasing, everything else becomes invisible.

The healthiest path for an actor is to let your goals guide your craft, your process, and your curiosity. Bring in results only as occasional data points, not as personal verdicts. When your focus is on growth and direction, the wins feel richer, the surprises feel magical, and the setbacks feel like detours instead of dead ends.

Keep up the great work!

Mark :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Love Within Brutality.

  Love Within Brutality. As most of you who are members of Mark Evans Studio are aware, on September 3rd I started rehearsal for the brand new Broadway musical Tammy Faye.  After six weeks of studio and technical rehearsals we began preview performances on October 19th. We officially opened the show on November 14th. Then, on November 19th, just five days later we each got a call from management saying that our show would be closing in three weeks, on December 8th.  More than a hundred actors, stage managers, musicians, crew members and many more staff who were contracted for twelve months, will lose their jobs nine months too early.  Many people reached out to me personally, asking how I was feeling when the news broke publicly and my main response was, “I feel absolutely exhausted”.  Not just in the throw away “I’m really tired today” way but really EXHAUSTED. Exhausted and depleted of my energy, my determination, my focus, my hope, my resilience, my ...
Read more

What Does Being a Professional Actor Mean to You?

Take a moment. Ask yourself honestly - “What does being a professional actor mean to me?” Not what you think it’s supposed to mean. Not what someone once told you. But to you . If your first thoughts sound something like “If I’m talented, I’ll be discovered” or “I need to get an agent first,” you’re not alone. These ideas are everywhere. But they’re mostly myths - ones that can hold you back and keep you stuck. The truth? Being a professional actor isn’t about waiting to be chosen. It’s about taking ownership. About showing up, even when no one’s watching yet.  Professionalism = Strategy + Consistency + Craft. Let’s start with the talent myth. You’ve probably been told you’re talented. That’s great. But talent alone isn’t a strategy. It’s a foundation - but without structure and direction, it doesn’t take you far. The actors who build careers aren’t always the most talented in the room. They’re the ones who take action. The ones who decide where they want to go, who they want t...
Read more

The Courage to Feel: Acting and the Art of Embracing Discomfort

Courage is often associated with grand gestures - running into danger, speaking truth to power, standing up for what’s right. But for us actors, courage takes a quieter, more intimate form. To be fully present in the uncomfortable, messy, and often painful parts of being human - the very parts most people spend their lives avoiding. In everyday life, most of us were unconsciously conditioned to manage or suppress difficult emotions. We distract ourselves from grief, deflect vulnerability, and avoid conflict to stay safe and comfortable, which makes sense, right? But acting demands the opposite. To bring a character to life with honesty and depth, an actor must dive straight into the emotional terrain most people tiptoe around. That’s not just a skill - it’s a deeply courageous act. The hardest part? When the character you’re playing behaves and lives in a way that is vastly different from how you live. Maybe they make choices you’d never make, hold beliefs that feel foreign, or expres...
Read more