Patricia Heaton O Magazine February 2011 Interview

The February 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine hits newsstands next week and inside is interviews with ‘The Office’ actress-writer-producer Mindy Kaling and ‘The Middle’ actress Patricia Heaton

Below I have some highlights from Patricia Heaton’s interview.  LOVE her and LOVE The Middle! So do my kids.  We make sure we are home Wednesday nights by 8pm so we can all watch it together!  I am so thrilled at the recent news that ABC give the show an early renewal!

On fear of failure:  “Acting had always been my identity, so when my career wasn’t panning out, I felt worthless I couldn’t figure out my place in the world and was terrified to admit to my family – and myself – that I might fail.”

On helping others:  “I have always believed that when you’re feeling sorry for yourself, the best thing to do is help someone else.  So when I saw a flier at my church for a four-day volunteer project at an orphanage in a Mexican border town, I signed up.”

On her aha! Moment:  “I’ve never worked so hard in my life…When I retuned home I felt relaxed and whole, like my spirit had gotten a massage. I realized that a life spent serving others would be just as fulfilling as acting.  I knelt down in my bedroom and prayed, ‘God if you want me to go in a different direction, jus show me.  I will follow.’”

On fear of failure:  “My belief that I couldn’t hold my head up if I wasn’t a famous actor had been paralyzing me.  Every audition had felt so weighted. Before each I would think, I’m too fat, I’m wearing the wrong thing.  What will I do if I don’t’ get his part?

On her big break:  “But after my time in Mexico, all of that negativity and second-guessing disappeared.  Soon enough, my career started picking up.  Two month after my trip, I landed my first big role, in the TV series Thirtysomething.  After nine years of struggle, success finally came to me once I stopped worrying so much about finding it.”