The calendar is just a bunch of numbers

You can’t live in the past.

And there’s no point worrying about the future!

Okay, 2020 has been a bit much. In voiceover world it seemed to be either feast or famine, depending on how long a voice actor had been in the industry, what genres they work in, how their clients were doing and, maybe, the murder hornets or lack thereof in their vicinity.

Many people are planning the heck outta 2021 in an attempt to make sure that it’s better than 2020. This much coaching, that financial goal, those new clients, the other fabulous voiceover jobs.

I’m here to say, in the wise words of my 15-year-old… chill.

The date on the calendar means exactly nothing.

Really! It doesn’t. It’s a number that helps you organise meetings. That’s it.

Anyone remember December 2019 when we were all planning 2020? Or December 2018 when we were planning 2019?

Hey, who else remembers December 1999 when we were all frantic about how amazing the next WHOLE MILLENIUM was going to be?

Was an awesome year awesome because you planned and strategized and “intention”ed it within an inch of its life, or…. bear with me here…. was it awesome because you worked hard every day, looked after yourself, took care of your people, and basically just showed up and made beautiful voiceover music with yourself every gosh-darn day? (also… maybe there wasn’t a pandemic or financial crisis or bushfire or….)

Instead of ruminating over what did or didn’t happen in 2020 or wishing and planning for what will happen in 2021 (lol check out that link I dare ya!) … may I suggest just living right here and right now, today.

“I promise myself that I will enjoy every minute of the day that is given to me to live.”

Thich Nhat Hanh

Not to be morose, but today is all you really have. The past no longer exists. The future you’re thinking of may never exist, and it certainly doesn’t exist yet.

So, if this moment right now is all that really exists, what does that mean?

• Enjoy it. Just enjoy it. Make time to enjoy it. Think about those people you see on TV who came close to death and now they just live with this crazy joy because they KNOW how great it is to be alive right now. Be like them. I dare ya.
• Love yourself. Just the way you are. Sure, you have some flaws, sure you’d like to learn or grow in some areas, but guess what, you’re fabulous right now. Grab a pen or open a notes app and write “I am fabulous”. Didn’t that feel good? (don’t cheat – I want to see pics of your “I am fabulous”es!)
• Make plans and set realistic goals, without obsessing over them. One step at a time, my dears. Take each step and keep going et voila! Magic happens.
• Let things go. If a job didn’t come through or a client wasn’t totally happy, or a relationship ended, or you couldn’t go to that voice acting class you wanted to…. Let it go. It’s already gone, so you might as well make more room for that crazy today-joy we were talking about.
• Breathe. Listen. Feel. Okay now I’m getting all hippie on you but really, trust me, it feels so good. I talk about meditation and mantras, but all you have to do is be still and breath slowly. Listen to your breath or the sounds around you. Don’t judge anything. Yeah, doesn’t that feel great?
• Tell someone you love them. It’s always a good time to do that!

“Make each day your masterpiece”

John Wooden.

Anyway. That’s my advice for this time of year. Just trying to chill the heat of all that reflection and planning and calendar-watching. Perhaps not a popular opinion but hey, I have never been one for popularity, I’m way too much of a dag.

dag : An unfashionable person; a person lacking style or character; a socially awkward adolescent, a ‘nerd’. These senses of dag derive from an earlier Australian sense of dag meaning ‘a “character”, someone eccentric but entertainingly so’

Wishing you all a fabulous, entertainingly eccentric kinda day!

xo Sumara.

(this article has also been published on the Core Mentor’s Association website, where I’m a Director.)