As Oscar nominations are set to be announced in just a few minutes, I wanted to share this little bit of trivia I recently read: Actors who receive Academy Awards outlive their less-honored peers by four years (on average), and actors who receive multiple Oscars live an average of seven years longer.
So. Turns out validation from one's peers has a very positive effect on longevity, and I would imagine, quality of life.
I wonder if it boils down to the level of stress? Like maybe it's all that STRIVING that wears a person down? I mean, once you've got one of those lovely statuettes for your mantel, I guess you can relax a bit while all the little people come to YOU...
"Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made."
- George Burns
Validation is great, isn't it? You deserve it, lady!
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Kirie
no wonder I feel older. :) we'll miss you in atlanta
ReplyDeleteIn your wildest dreams, would you rather win an Oscar ... win the National Book Award (or Newberry)... or have your book picked for Oprah's book club? Which peer validation would feel best?
ReplyDeleteAnna
Ooh, what a great question, Anna! And the answer for me is easy: bring on the Newbery. :) The last thing I want is fame... don't even care about fortune... but to feel like I've written something that matters in someone else's life?? That's where it's at for me. And you know what? I don't even need the Newbery. Just regular people, this kind of dialogue. It's validation enough.
ReplyDeleteNow tell me your answer. :)
I'm with you - I'd like to overhear a conversation in a coffee shop or grocery store in which the two discuss how much they could relate to what I'd written and how much it had made them think or feel. Validation would be knowing somehow I'd connected to something in people that maybe they couldn't even name. Lots of direct attention makes me uncomfortable. So I guess that means the Oscar is out ... :)
ReplyDeleteAnna
Yes, that's it exactly... and you know, it's helping me so much that you asked the question. It is so easy to get caught up in all the parts of being a writer that, in my heart, DO NOT MATTER. I'm gonna post this at my desk to remind myself I'm NOT writing for fame and fortune. Just because other's are (and get more attention), that's never what I wanted in the first place... in fact the attention is what stresses me out most! :) THANK YOU.
ReplyDeletePeople (like me) feel validated by the honesty and vulnerability in your work and in your willingness to share. I think people recognize a loving heart when they see one. So THANK YOU. :)
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