| When we begin this VOICEOVER journey, we’re all at different places and stages in life. You’ve probably heard this quote: |
| We have many people subscribed to this email. Some are in their chapter 1 … some in their chapter 20. The tips and tools we seek to equip you with can/will hit you at different phases or times in your VO career. But the one thing that we ALL can focus on at ANY stage is mental resilience. |
According to StresstoStrength.com: “Mental or psychological resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to successfully adapt to life tasks in the face of social disadvantage or highly adverse conditions. Adversity and stress can come in the shape of family or relationship problems, health problems, or workplace or financial worries, among others.” Tack on a global pandemic, and it’s a situation ripe for your emotions to simply overload! Each one of us is battling something, or many things, but there are a few practices we can do regularly to increase our mental toughness. |
| 1) Get enough sleep. I (Mike) am a notorious late-nighter. Been that way ever since I was little. Then it didn’t help when I was the night DJ for a radio station for years. It’s always been hard for me to get a good night’s sleep. And I’ve often felt ‘guilty’ for taking naps. No more. If I’m tired and I can squeeze it in, I nap. Sleep health is becoming huge in this day and age with 8-9 hours encouraged among health experts. (Doc Parsley has some great information and products.) 2) Journal – I’ve recently started doing this because I’m going through a book that encourages it daily. Some do it for artistic, religious, or other reasons – whatever the reason, don’t put any restraints on yourself with what you write. Write like no one else will see it. Write down your thoughts, prayers, concerns, worries, doubts, fears, opinions…whatever! Simply notating whatever it is that’s affecting your mind, does a wonderful thing: releases your noggin from having to think about it. It’s helped me tremendously. And within that journal experience, take a 30,000-foot view of your situation. You might realize that you have everything you need, and that your worries are unfounded. 3) Create a list. All of us have plenty to do in life. Creating a to-do list and FOCUSING on one thing at a time, helps give you a sense of power. It also gives you a tremendous sense of accomplishment in knocking out things you need to do, whether for your VO business or simply things around the house. 4) Add exercise, breathing exercises, and beauty to your life. Beauty has the power to heal the soul. Simply taking time outdoors for a half-hour focusing on the simple things in life can clear the mind like nothing else…as can a good HIIT workout or 5-minute box-breathing exercise. These are just a few practices to put into place, and there are many out there. For me/us, as VO talent and actors, they’ve helped us see that we have much more power than we think. When your mind is clear, you’re able to make better decisions, as well as clear the path for creativity. Creativity in your #VoiceOverpreneurship, and life. |
-Mike and Heidi |