We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jaci Terjeson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jaci below.
Jaci , sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
Some people might feel like a diagnosis is a prison sentence. All of the sudden the bars come down and their limits are set. My diagnosis with ADHD felt the complete opposite. I had struggled my whole life to be organized, remember important details, and trying everything I could to keep up with everyone around me. I was constantly drowning in a sea of brain fog and self degradation. As a standup comedian, I couldn’t figure out how to organize my career because I couldn’t focus on a specific path I wanted to follow. I’d start walking down one way, only to see something shinny on a different path and run to it. All of this resulted in projects that were never finished, jokes premises that stayed premises, and a big hit on my self esteem. When I learned I have ADHD, it’s like I was given a key to finally join the outside world. I saw where my weaknesses lie, and instead of beating myself up for it, I realized these aren’t character flaws! My brain is just different! The tools I learned to manage my ADHD helped me to put workarounds in place so I have less blind spots. The greatest gift has come in the ability to have grace for myself. Some days I may write for four hours, and it’s pure gold. Other days I can’t seem to bring my dirty dish to the sink, let alone think about joke structure. And I’ve learned that that’s ok. I ride the waves and know that sunny days will always come.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a nationally touring standup comedian, actor, and writer based in the Seattle area! My comedy is heavily physical and silly, and deals with topics ranging from motherhood, ADHD, and my every day observations. My goal is to bring laughter to the masses with my fully unhinged, joy-ridden personality. I just recently launched my podcast, The Manic World of Jaci Terj, where I bring on other standup comedians and we talk about times we have completely lost it. It’s fun and it normalizes the big feels we all get. I’ve got a ton of fun shows coming up, including going on the road with Tim Meadows this summer, to Nevada and Alberta!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Passion, tenacity, and a willingness to admit that you aren’t ’there’ yet. When you can partner creative passion and the tenacity to go after what you want, you can solve literally any problem that comes your way. But, you have to have the humility to actually see the roadblock first. I’M NOT PERFECT! I’M STILL WORKING ON IT!! But, I’ve learned that the longer you commit yourself to the process and continue to show up, the farther you’ll go. My advice is to start small and celebrate every tiny thing you could possibly celebrate. You did the laundry when you didn’t want to? YEAH YOU DID!! You spent 5 minutes writing, even though you planned on 30? That’s 5 minutes of writing that wouldn’t have gotten done if you didn’t do it! GIVE YOURSELF A HIGH FIVE, QUEEN! Basically, giving yourself flowers is a disciple that will get you SO much farther than hating on yourself for what you didn’t do. And guess what? It will make your art happier!
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I want to find other creators that vibe with my style of humor and that take their art seriously- meaning they want to create well-made things. In the TikTok age, everyone and their mom can make a silly little video in their car. I want to find people to collaborate with where we can put in the work to make things that require more than an ounce of brain power, lots of skill, and probably a handful of fart jokes. I want to write scripts, create shorts, and basically just make stupid stuff that makes us happy and looks amazing. Are you that person?
0 YES
0 NO
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.jaciterjeson.com
- Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/jaciterjcomedy
- Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/jaciterjcomedy
- Twitter: @jaciterjcomedy
- Youtube: https://Www.youtube.com/jaciterjcomedy
- Other: Threads: @jaciterjcomedy
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