As someone who has prided herself on ALWAYS being prepared, lately I’ve been shaken by my personal lack of stability and ability to handle things that have come my way.
I’m a bit shook, thinking “What just happened?!?” I’ve been caught unaware, unprepared, and have found myself scrambling for solutions.
When I say I’m always prepared, I mean it. I usually have multiple contingency plans and various strategies laid out depending upon how a situation unfolds. This allows me flexibility and the essential element - control. Yes, I’ll also admit that I’m a bit ok a lot of a control freak.
But lately, “things” have been VERY far out of my control. As in, there’s no way I can make predictions about anything because I have no idea what might actually happen or if something would happen at all.
A lot of experiences are coming out of left field and largely due to people outside of my regular sphere. So, it’s a total state of limbo. And if I don’t know what options might happen, then there’s no way I can predict the possible futures - and my whole objective of “being prepared” is totally shot to sh!t. This is very much a time of UNCERTAINTY.
I don’t even think I need to ask if anyone else has ever been at a stage of uncertainty in their lives. You’re probably already nodding your head.
I mean as voice actors, we’ve chosen to be in a gig economy, which is completely unpredictable and our future employment (and ability to pay our bills) is decided by those we don’t know and usually have no contact with. In fact, we may not even know their names! Yet, the impact casting directors, producers, etc can have on our livelihoods is incredible.
So, here I am, lamenting my inability to predict the future and handle everything with grace(- yeah, eye rolls are deserved)when I stumble across a quote from James Clear...:
"The ultimate form of preparation is not planning for a specific scenario, but a mindset that can handle uncertainty."
I reeled back, not knowing if I felt incredibly seen or viciously attacked. In fact, I still don’t know how I feel about the directness of that quote to my life, so we’ll go with:-an impact was made. A huge pause in my day and it was powerful enough for me to spend time writing about it.
how do you go about creating a mindset that can handle all of the uncertainty that comes with the job description of voiceover actor?
Continuing your education.
There will always be resources available to help refine your craft, increase your business knowledge, or build your tech skills.
When facing uncertainty, it’s easy to get down on ourselves, despite our lack of control in the casting process.
But something we CAN control? How we go about using our time to better our chances of landing the next audition. Take a class, practice some copy, read a blog - anything that helps you build yourself into something stronger.
Reflect on past success.
Remember the time when you DID land the gig? Absolutely! Which means it can be done again!
Or if you’re really new to the voiceover journey, think back on good feedback you received. We’re all learning and growing. Sometimes we’ll have more work than we can handle. Other times we wonder if we’ll ever book again.
Things run in cycles, so the uncertainty will eventually clear up. In the meantime, reflect on the positives and let’s keep our heads up.
Engage in self-care.
Uncertainty breeds stress and no one performs or functions well under stress. So take some time to pamper yourself. Maybe that means reading a good book, getting a massage, having dinner with a friend, or playing a sport. Basically, whatever makes you feel good and appreciate the moment you’re in.
Show yourself kindness.
If your best friend came up to you and expressed the same feelings of uncertainty, what would you tell them? How would you tell them? Treat yourself with the same love and encouragement you would give to your friend.
Life works in cycles, so if today, or this week, or this month)is breeding uncertainty, things WILL change. Another gig will come along, pieces will fall into place. But in the meantime, we have to set our minds on handling uncertainty instead of letting it cripple us.
Taking it minute by minute,
Christy