Tie Yourself to the Mast

So–have you guessed it?  How could Odysseus get his ship and crew safely past the Sirens while still being able to hear their beautiful–but deadly–song?

And more importantly, how does this have anything to do with modeling? Bear with me here…

Odysseus’ plan was clever in design and simple in execution. He instructed his crew to first plug their ears with beeswax and once that was done, to tie him securely to the mast.

His orders were strict–the sailors were not to remove the wax from their ears, nor respond to him in any way until the ship had safely passed the island of the Sirens. Should he shout or plea, they were to ignore him. If he tried to free himself from the mast, they were to bind him more tightly to it.

As the ship approached the island of the Sirens, all the men began filling their ears with wax. All but Odysseus. He placed himself in front of the mast while his crew began lashing the ropes about him. They then pulled the ropes as tightly as possible before knotting and re-knotting the ends.

As they got within earshot of the Sirens, Odysseus become as a man possessed. He had never heard anything so alluring or beautiful. He was utterly captivated and began fighting against the ropes, shouting impassioned orders for the crew to turn the ship towards the island.

Unable to hear his commands, the sailors ignored him. They hunched over their oars and rowed with a fury. At one point, Odysseus seemed to be making progress in freeing himself from the mast and a few strong men jumped up and lashed him even tighter.

This infuriated Odysseus–he threatened execution to all who disobeyed his orders to free him at once and turn the ship around.

But the sailors neither heard him nor cared. They had made an agreement in advance to report to and obey the real Odysseus, not this inflamed creature who’d gone temporarily mad. Their orders came from truth and reason, not from a lie and insanity. And by sticking to their pre-planned agreement, captain and crew got out alive.

Once they’d made a safe distance from that dangerous place, the sailors removed the beeswax from their ears and untied their captain. No longer within earshot of the Sirens, Odysseus was himself again. And he thanked his crew for staying true to the orders from his real self.

I don’t know about you, but I recognize a very valuable lesson in that story. And it is this: We all have to go through narrow straits and get past ‘Siren’s’ at times. But the Sirens in our lives reside in our minds–they’re feelings of doubt or depression. They’re the thoughts of failure and fear. It can be that voice in our head telling us we’re not good enough or that our plans will never work out. There are a million and one things that could be beckoning to us, drawing us in. If it’s a ‘weak day’ for us, we might just lose our reason and start to believe them…

I know that for a model this is a constant threat. There’s so much potential in the industry for self-doubt and comparison with others that a big part of a model’s work is just to keep his or her head on straight.

So, the techniqe I was telling you about is what I call ‘tying myself to the mast’. Whether I see a bad mood or mindset creeping up on me like a fog or it comes upon me unawares, as soon as I am conscious of it I use my technique.

First, I recognize what is happening. An example might be, “Ok, I’m feeling really disappointed about that particular situation. This is a lousy feeling right now, everything looks dark and I don’t like it.”

Then I speak to my reasoning self: “I’m going to have to tie myself to the mast here.”
Which means that I make a pre-arranged agreement with myself to act as the sailors with the beeswax in their ears. I know what’s coming, some ‘rough seas’ ahead. But I also know that it won’t last. So I mentally see myself being lashed to the mast and whenever negative thoughts thunder through my mind I simply remind myself that they are only temporary and I don’t need to lend them any credence. As with the sailors in the Odyssey, I simply will not obey orders to go to the rocks (to panic, despair, give up) from an insane captain tied to a mast. Once I ride it out, I’ll be in calm waters again and back to my old self.

Try this technique for yourself and see if it doesn’t give you a better perspective on things the next time the Sirens start to sing…

Warmest,

Kim

Tagged as: fashion model, fashion model castings, Modeling, modeling self-confidence, Odysseus, Odyssey, self-confindence, siren song, Sirens