17 days: what's left behind

One of the sadnesses of bringing something to completion - in this case, Migritude I: The Mother - is having to make final choices about what gets used and what doesn't. Letting go of all the other terrific ideas about how to stage a certain segment. Cutting out favourite pieces from the script, because they're too long, or don't fit with the overall flow.

It's also one of the areas where I dither and hesitate and second-guess myself and wonder constantly if I'm making the right choice. The fear of mistakes paralyses me more often than I'd care to admit.

I've learned one thing from Migritude: it's only a mistake if it stops me moving forward. If I get bogged down in regret for a decision that turns out badly. Even if it cost money and time and took us down a dead alley, it doesn't become a mistake until I get stuck on it. My director has a wonderfully reassuring way of recasting all mistakes as discoveries.

I came across a great tool for decision making. When you're trying to choose a course of action, ask yourself what the consequences will be of each option:

- in ten minutes time
- in ten months time
- in ten years time.

It's amazing how it clears mental fog and puts things in perspective.