Aug 17, 2026 · 11 min · 5 segments
What if getting the thing you've been working toward doesn't feel the way you thought it would? In this mini episode, I'm unpacking something a guest said that I haven't been able to stop thinking…
Maddie McGuireHost
i had a guest on the show recently that said something and i've been replaying it in my mind she was talking about her acting career and what she said was i was in a place for a long time where i just wanted to book now booking isn't enough i need for one of those to go so i can elevate to the next level the base is always shifting and i've been booking co-stars for years 10 years and i can't get to that next level or i haven't yet every job you get as an actor almost feels like a reset Every job feels like a reset.
And I sat with that for a long time because I think that's one of the most honest and disorienting truths about a creative career that nobody prepares you for.
We spend so much time of our creative careers in pursuit of a specific milestone.
Just get the agent, just book the first job, just get the co-star, just get the guest star, just book the campaign, just hit the number in your bank account, just hit the next level, just become the series regular.
And we tell ourselves continuously or not, That when we get there, something will shift.
And I talk about arrival fallacy all the time because we know, we know that from so many people sharing, they thought XYZ was going to make them feel like they've arrived and it didn't.
Somehow, and I'm guilty of this too, we still feel like when it happens for us, this romantic image that we have in our head will come true.
But for us, when we hit this milestone, this arrival of this moment in time will feel just so delicious.
Even though everyone else didn't feel like they've arrived, we definitely will.
So then what happens when we do arrive? What happens? We get there and then the base shifts.
And suddenly what we just achieved is the new floor, not the ceiling we were just reaching for.
And we're looking up again at the next thing, wondering why where we are still doesn't feel like enough.
And this isn't unique to acting, right? It's the hedonic treadmill in full effect.
It's the psychological phenomenon where we return to a baseline level of satisfaction no matter what we achieve.
Knowing that doesn't make it less disorienting, but it does make it less personal.
So if the finish line keeps moving, if every achievement becomes a reset, what's the point? How do you stay motivated and passionate when the arrival you've been working towards keeps dissolving into the next departure? And I think the answer is the same one that keeps coming up on this show in so many different forms.
i had a guest on the show recently that said something and i've been replaying it in my mind she was talking about her acting career and what she said was i was in a place for a long time where i just wanted to book now booking isn't enough i need for one of those to go so i can elevate to the next level the base is always shifting and i've been booking co-stars for years 10 years and i can't get to that next level or i haven't yet every job you get as an actor almost feels like a reset Every job feels like a reset.
And I sat with that for a long time because I think that's one of the most honest and disorienting truths about a creative career that nobody prepares you for.
We spend so much time of our creative careers in pursuit of a specific milestone.
Just get the agent, just book the first job, just get the co-star, just get the guest star, just book the campaign, just hit the number in your bank account, just hit the next level, just become the series regular.
And we tell ourselves continuously or not, That when we get there, something will shift.
And I talk about arrival fallacy all the time because we know, we know that from so many people sharing, they thought XYZ was going to make them feel like they've arrived and it didn't.
Somehow, and I'm guilty of this too, we still feel like when it happens for us, this romantic image that we have in our head will come true.
But for us, when we hit this milestone, this arrival of this moment in time will feel just so delicious.
Even though everyone else didn't feel like they've arrived, we definitely will.
So then what happens when we do arrive? What happens? We get there and then the base shifts.
And suddenly what we just achieved is the new floor, not the ceiling we were just reaching for.
And we're looking up again at the next thing, wondering why where we are still doesn't feel like enough.
And this isn't unique to acting, right? It's the hedonic treadmill in full effect.
It's the psychological phenomenon where we return to a baseline level of satisfaction no matter what we achieve.
Knowing that doesn't make it less disorienting, but it does make it less personal.
So if the finish line keeps moving, if every achievement becomes a reset, what's the point? How do you stay motivated and passionate when the arrival you've been working towards keeps dissolving into the next departure? And I think the answer is the same one that keeps coming up on this show in so many different forms.
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