Modesty ~ an experiment

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about this word. It all started when another student, Jae Eun An mentioned modesty in our first Tuesday Discussion on 03/10. Jae Eun kindly shared her experience of working in her home country of South Korea opposed to working in the USA and the UK and she brought up modesty saying how being modest is a top priority when working in South Korea and how the whole notion of 'selling yourself' that we see in the UK is not well received and perceived as showing off.

*I do apologise if I have misinterpreted your words at any point Jae Eun, but I did want to credit you for the inspiration! 

During the discussion on 03/10 we didn't really expand on 'modesty', but I was left thinking about this word. I have always been someone who's found the whole notion of "selling myself" or "owning how good I am" very difficult as I do value modesty and I do not like showing off. But is selling yourself and owning how good you are really synonymous to showing off? When others do it I certainly don't perceive it as such, I find people who know how to sell themselves brave and inspiring. Of course there will be people that talk nonsense and try to make themselves seem more qualified or more successful than they are, but there is a middle ground between saying nothing and saying lies and that is saying the truth.

With these thoughts in mind I went off and started - let's call it - an experiment. About which I spoke a bit on the module 1 discussion on 09/10; I started submitting myself for parts without trying to be modest at all. And the auditions started piling up - two jobs bagged too. But then I still had to answer the why not being modest got me more work?

During the module 1 discussion as we spoke about modesty Adesola urged us to think about what not being modest can translate to. Is the opposite of modesty showing off? Or maybe, in this context at least, it can translate to being generous? Employers have limited time and they want to find the perfect person for the job. Therefore being modest in your application is simply making things harder for them, by telling them how good and suitable you are (and why) you're not showing off, you're making their jobs easier. And raise your success rate, employment and hopefully income too. It's a win - win situation really.

The experiment didn't end in the applications stage though. I wanted to see how much I can use this new mind set and in how many different situations, always being careful I never cross the line between being generous and being obnoxious. I find the line is very straightforwardly drawn where you find yourself exaggerating the truth or even sneak in a few lies or when you start mentioning things that are not that relevant but might just sound impressive. Stay clear of those mistakes and you can use this mind set in your cover letters, auditions, interviews, rehearsal rooms and film sets.

Be generous. To the employer, the director, the company, the team, the cast, the creatives and to yourself too.

Here's a Buddha Doodle by Molly Hahn to inspire you!