Conviction, Confidence, and Discipline.

Just finished another work week. Settled in my room with some music (mostly Zedd, Kendrick Lamar, Maroon 5, and Romeo Santos; roommate and his female friend are talking extra loudly about whatever it is college kids talk about these days) and a Shock Top Honey Bourbon Cask Wheat (I don't recommend it—it tries too hard).

• Romeo Santos & Usher: "Promise"
• Zedd: "Clarity"
• Maroon 5: "It Was Always You"
• Earth, Wind & Fire: "In The Stone"

This was an interesting week, because it brought me face-to-face with myself.

The thing about life is that anybody can handle it when it's going smoothly. Television is an industry where nothing ever goes 100% according to plan—you can only ever ask for 90%...if that. When you run into a rough patch, the only thing you can do is not be seen sweating it. If you manage to deliver something suboptimal, you can at least make sure you deliver it fully. While you can be trained to manage any situation, the only thing you aren't trained for is the dreaded 4th-and-long scenario where you have to decide between the field goal and the hail mary.

It's Kobayashi Maru, for all you Star Trek fans. Whatever the circumstances were that led to the current position, you're lined up behind the eight ball and have to perform under perceptibly extreme circumstances. I say perceptibly—if you're anything like me, anything less than 90% is absolute disaster.

How do you manage when you feel like you're in a tailspin?

It's easy to say "relax." It's easy to hear "don't beat yourself up." Everyone has their "dumpster fire" moments. For the near-consummate perfectionist, it's an exercise in unlearning.

You have to give up the notion that "perfect" is the goal; forgo the pursuit of creating a masterpiece in favor of a cohesive anthology. I had a professor in graduate school who said "don't let great get in the way of good." It's good teaching.

When you see disaster looming, you make it a point to circle the wagons, deliver on what you have, and live to fight another day.

When you're in the opening stages of your career, it's important to understand that things will just not go right sometimes. If you don't take yourself too seriously and realize that you're in the infancy of your adult life, it's less traumatic.

Once you've been through it, you quickly develop methods to avoid similar situations; the beauty of organic life is that it adapts for survival. Man is no different.

If you treat "success" and "failure" exactly the same, you'll go far. Such binary terms are subjective, and inherently miss the critical similarity between the two—you will learn and improve yourself, no matter what happens.

Conviction, Confidence, and Discipline.

What drives you? Without conviction and a sound belief that what you're doing means something to you, you're bound to just be left spinning your wheels and be sub-par. Know your purpose; know your drive. At the end of the day, when your efforts are spent, you'll know that you've served your purpose.

Do you trust yourself? This is such a hackneyed idea, it's almost ridiculous...but if you trust in everything you've learned so far, you cannot fail yourself. Trust yourself and your decision-making. This week, on a second occasion, I was in a position to make a judgment call. At any time before this week, I would have been trapped in a vicious feedback loop, in which I would consider a growing number of possibilities, pros and cons, "what if" scenarios...and prevent myself from taking any meaningful action. This goes back to the first point; if you trust yourself to follow your conviction, you will make the best decision.

Will you do what is necessary? No matter how you feel about what you do, ideas and thoughts are nothing but potential. Only when you act will you produce meaningful results. It's easy to feel that you've exhausted your will or earned your downtime. Only through repeated, directed, deliberate action will you achieve a desired goal. If you aren't willing to sacrifice a little comfort, it just won't happen for you; going that one step further to ensure your success isn't a motivational tactic...it's an imperative. It's a mark of character. If you can force yourself to complete every task ahead of you, relentlessly and efficiently, you are well on your way to maximizing and extending your potential.

It comes down to your character. Develop it positively, and you'll master your craft—and yourself—in no time.

And...if you should ever happen to face a struggle...the next outing will be a rousing success...because of your conviction, your confidence, and your discipline.