Your Main Character Soundtrack
Thirteen Prompts to Inspire Your Outfits this Week
I’m blocked.
I intended to write a newsletter about The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp, the second piece in my series about habits. I absolutely loved the book. But, even with all of my enthusiasm, the words won’t come. It feels like the classic performer nightmare. I’m alone on stage, the audience before me. I open my mouth to sing and nothing comes out. No voice, no air. In my current reality, I go to write, and nothing comes out. No words, barely letters.
I thought I could ride it out. We have a lot going on right now, and I’m fairly exhausted. I kept telling myself that I just needed a little rest, or a distraction, or more clean clothes, but days went by, and nothing changed. I continued to feel barely literate and my anxiety ballooned. So, I’ve been walking. I leave my house in the morning, put in my headphones, and walk about two miles. It is my attempt at a ceremonial march back to some kind of Main Character Energy. If I can get some enthusiasm back, and some confidence, then my words might back come, too.
I’m still struggling, but the walks did give me an idea.
Let’s play a game.
Below are thirteen songs. Listen to each song and imagine it playing as the soundtrack in a movie where you are the main character. What has happened? Who are you with? Where are you and how did you get there? What style of film is it? And, most importantly, what are you wearing?
I owe a chunk of this idea to my friend, Rachel. On her Instagram account, Inspirsession, she has been eloquently detailing her own return to Main Character Energy. She called this process “unshelving”, saying, “through my routines, my mental habits, and, yes, my wardrobe, I’m making an effort to unshelve myself this year.” I love this description. The main character version of you is there! You just have to take her off the shelf!
I asked Rachel if she’d be willing to contribute a Main Character Energy song to our game this week, and she said yes! Her choices, “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek and “The Wire” by Haim are the first two songs in the list below.
Some other notes about this game before we play:
I’d suggest keeping each imaginary movie about you - and not imagine yourself as someone else. Someone else wouldn’t have your wardrobe!
Each song is intended to represent a different movie, a different story, a different Main Character Energy. The list is not supposed to be the full soundtrack to one movie.
I’ve embedded a clip of each song below, or you can listen to them in full using this Spotify playlist.
Let’s get unshelving!
I can’t wait to see your Main Character looks! Tag me in them, DM them, text them, snail mail them, I’ll take them in any format!
What do you think of this concept? What songs are your Main Character mainstays?
And a thank you, again, to Rachel, for all of the Main Character inspiration. Follow her here!
Wishing you a fabulous week, you star!
Rebecca
I love these prompts! I had fun creating “characters” of myself using these songs, and getting out of my jeans and a button down rut!