We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mari Reisberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mari below.
Mari, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
As someone who has had several different careers, one of the most defining moments in my life was when I figured out a pivotal piece of my career puzzle. This event started my journey in the counseling field. After college, (I have a BFA in acting) I moved to NYC to pursue a career in the theater. I ended up singing in an Irish band, working at a restaurant and being a nanny. All of these jobs were exciting, and I learned a whole heck of a lot about myself. However, I felt like there was more out there in the world for me to do, that something was missing. During my time living in NYC no matter where I went people would tell me their life story. It could be at a bar, on the subway, in a cab, getting my nails done, at a diner at 3am, it didn’t matter where I was, someone was talking to me and sharing their life experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly. I guess I have a welcoming presence that people are drawn to! and coming from a family of people who aren’t afraid to talk to anyone and everyone this was a winning combination for life stories to be shared with me. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when this was uncomfortable, and inconvenient. For example the night I was proposed to by a stranger on the city bus. After getting off work and just wanting to quietly listen to my music on my ride home, I was propelled into an experience with a fellow bus rider who apparently felt the urge and need to tell me they were very wealthy, and that they would be thrilled to take care of me for the rest of my life if I were to agree to marry them. Needless to say, I did not accept the proposal, and to the dismay of this individual got off at the next stop and walked the remaining 30 blocks home. While it wasn’t the most comfortable experience it does make for a great story at parties. After a while I started to pay attention to how many people were unprompted, sharing their struggles, celebrations and life stories with me. After a particularly late night out with some girlfriends in early 2005 we were all sitting at a diner eating food to soak up the alcohol we had consumed earlier in the evening. It’s 3am and a single elderly appearing woman walks into the diner. She walks up to our table and amidst our laughter and chatter says, unprompted, “I’m a recovering alcoholic on day 163 and I really need to talk to someone and share a cup of coffee. The table goes silent for a moment and without a second thought I say, “by all means, join us!” So she does. All of us at the table, there were 3 of us plus her, for the next 45min listen to this complete stranger tell us her life story, about her marriage, her kids, and her recovery journey. When she’d finished her coffee, she told us that we were her angels that night and if we ever needed anything to please let her know. She very kindly gave us her phone number and wished us all well and then left. While I never reached out to her I vividly remember this experience as one of the defining moments that helped me shift into becoming a therapist. Two years later I started working on my Master’s in Counseling Psychology. I often think back on this moment and wonder how this woman is. When she crosses my mind I offer up a quick ‘thank you’ to her for sharing her struggle with us that early morning so long ago. I’m reminded how brave it is to ask for help or support and how much courage it must take to do so with a stranger. You never know what someone is going through and I’m forever grateful to the individuals in my life who are courageous enough to keep asking for help and support. I love what I do, and listening to people’s stories is where it all started.
Mari, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Where to start! Well I am a Certified Creativity and Innovation Coach, Licensed Professional Counselor, Host of the Sustaining Creativity Podcast and Performer. I have a BFA in acting from the Hartt School and a MA in Somatic Counseling Psychology, Dance Movement Therapy from Naropa University. For many years I have been combining my degrees in acting and Somatic psychology to support performers with my Sustaining Creativity techniques. In May of 2020 I decided to keep the creativity conversations going by starting the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. For the past three and a half years I have been releasing weekly episodes where I interview individuals from around the world about creativity. This podcast has been such an amazing way to connect with other people and their creative experience. With my Creativity Coaching business I work with performers and non performers to reawaken creativity in everyday life, supporting individuals to learn skills and tools to live a more joy filled life. I also guest artist at Universities around the country supporting students in the performing arts departments to manage stress, anxiety, depression, burn out, creative blocks and sustain their creativity. In my therapy practice I work with adults navigating stress, anxiety, depression, and life transitions. I love all the things I do and they all weave together incredibly well. I’m so proud of the work I get to do with Sustaining Creativity. I have a unique way of looking at creativity and experiencing creativity in everyday life that most people, even people in creative careers have never experienced. I believe creativity is for everyone and being able to find your own unique blend of creativity and life is what I share with my clients.
You can find me on Facebook, Intagram and TikTok @SustainingCreativity
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
I believe that one of the most helpful things you can do in any field is find the edge of your comfort zone and learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable. Growth and creativity happen at the edge of your comfort zone. I am a huge believer in taking chances and learning new things. This rarely happens in your comfort zone. Intense and literal pressure are what goes into creating a diamond and while I don’t think you have to suffer to grow and change you do have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Resilience is incredible and the beauty is that we can learn how to be resilient. For me I learned more about being resilient when I took a deep dive into my own creativity than I ever thought possible. A large portion of my life has been spent in the performing arts. This arena is one of the most difficult spaces to keep confidence up and navigate rejection and disappointments on a regular if not daily basis. These are all things that can break down resilience. They slowly start to chip away at it and if you’re not aware you might just find yourself walking away from something you love. I didn’t come to the understanding or realization until I was well into my masters program for counseling that I had never been given tools to navigate rejection and disappointment. In acting school we were taught how to act, audition, sing, dance, not burn bridges with potential career opportunity individuals but I wasn’t given any skills to recover from rejection. The regular rejection is a slippery slope that keeps many people out of the performing arts despite them gaining incredible confidence and skills in this field. How do you, at 18 learn to not take something personally? The mental gymnastics I put myself through being rejected and not knowing how to navigate recovering from that or how to not take the rejection personally was too much! I think we often hear the stories about people who were told ‘no’ a thousand times and kept going until they got that ‘yes.’ We don’t hear about people who took a deep look into their own psyche and made the choice for their own mental health. They needed to walk away and do something different. I think there is resilience in both. Over the years I’ve learned a lot of skills to help me navigate rejection and disappointment and I’ve gotten back into performing, which is something I love. Sometimes resilience takes time and effort to build. At least it did for me. I wouldn’t change the choices I made, and now I get to support others experiencing similar resilience challenges to learn tools and skills so they can navigate their own choices that best serve their own passions and experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sustainingcreativity.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sustainingcreativity/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sustainingcreativity
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mari-reisberg-b1320151/
Image Credits
Lisa Hurst