← 10% Happier with Dan Harris

Margot Bingham

Apr 20, 2016 48m 8s 17 insights
Actress and singer-songwriter Margot Bingham has moved from playing the role of jazz singer Daughter Maitland in HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" to a highly-respected detective in ABC's "The Family," but in working through these complex roles, Bingham said she finds comfort through practicing meditation. Bingham sat down with Dan Harris and talked about her career, how she dealt with the heaviness of her "Boardwalk Empire" role and how she found meditation.
Actionable Insights

1. Embrace Meditation for Stress

Practice meditation and cultivate patience to effectively manage stress and anxiety, especially when dealing with various personalities and egos in demanding environments. This helps maintain a clear and positive mind frame.

2. Avoid Meditation Expectations

Do not approach meditation with expectations of ‘winning’ or achieving immediate calm, as this can hinder the practice. Instead, understand that meditation is about the continuous process of noticing distractions and gently returning to your focus.

3. Recognize Distraction as Success

Reframe your understanding of meditation: getting distracted is not a failure, but rather the opportunity to notice the distraction and gently return to your practice, which is the true success. This mindset helps manage frustration, especially for goal-oriented individuals.

4. Practice Simple Meditation Intentions

When meditating, strive to set intentions that are simplistic, pure, and very clear. This helps prevent the mind from feeling overwhelmed or trying to address too many issues at once, leading to a more focused practice.

5. Dedicate Daily Personal Time

Commit to taking 10 to 15 minutes for yourself daily, whether for formal meditation or just a moment of silence. This practice is crucial for mental well-being, especially for those working long hours who struggle to disconnect from phones and computers at night.

6. Separate Work and Personal Life

Consciously leave the emotional intensity and drama of your work at the workplace, particularly when dealing with demanding roles or professions. This practice is essential for maintaining mental health and preventing work-related stress from negatively impacting your home life.

7. Don’t Sleep with Work Stress

If your work is emotionally intense, make a promise to yourself to take extra time alone or stay up longer to process and release work-related thoughts before falling asleep. This prevents carrying negative mental baggage into your rest.

8. Cultivate Grounded Relationships

Maintain a small, close circle of grounded friends and strong family ties. These relationships serve as a crucial support system to keep you humble and balanced, preventing you from becoming ‘a diva’ amidst professional success or challenges.

9. Focus on Artistry & Quality Work

Stay rooted in your core artistry and the continuous pursuit of doing better work that you are genuinely proud of. This mindset helps maintain focus and grounding amidst the external pressures and new aspects of a successful career.

10. Emulate Gracious Professionals

Strive to embody qualities such as graciousness, respect, and humility in your professional interactions, aiming to elevate the performance of those around you. This approach fosters a positive environment and enhances overall collaboration.

11. Use Headphones to Zone Out

In overwhelming or stressful work environments, use headphones to listen to music or simply create a personal space to ‘zone out.’ This serves as a practical coping mechanism to block distractions and manage stress.

12. Adjust Diet by Blood Type

Consult an endocrinologist to get your blood type tested and explore dietary recommendations based on your blood type, such as those found in the ‘Eat Right for Your Blood Type’ book. This can help address issues like post-meal lethargy and improve overall well-being.

13. Incorporate Yoga and Acupuncture

Integrate practices like yoga and acupuncture into your routine, alongside maintaining a generally clean lifestyle. These holistic approaches can contribute to feeling lighter, better, and improving overall health.

14. Listen to Relaxing Music for Sleep

Adopt a nightly regimen of listening to relaxing music, such as meditation, spa, Reiki, or chakra music, to help your mind open up and release stress. This practice can lead to deep relaxation and significantly improve sleep quality.

15. Utilize Guided Meditation Apps

Explore guided meditation apps like Headspace, Oprah/Deepak’s 21-day challenges, or 10% Happier. These tools provide structured guidance, help set intentions, and offer a library of meditations for various needs like stress, anxiety, and sleep.

16. Mantra Meditation Word Hack

If you struggle with a prescribed mantra word in meditation, feel free to choose any word you prefer to repeat silently with your breath. The specific word is less important than the concentration on the breath and the chosen word, which helps quiet the mind.

17. Simplify Actor’s Objective

For actors, break down your objective for a scene or role to its simplest, purest form, ideally a single word. This clarity allows for a more direct and focused performance, avoiding convoluted approaches.