Perhaps there are times where you look around and what you’re doing and where you are in life and ask yourself, am I happy? I’m sure we’ve all been there a time or two. We take a long look at our jobs or our relationships and really get down to it. Is there more than this? I’m making good money but I’m not happy.
I worked in veterinary medicine for 26 years from 1990 to 2016, starting in high school, during breaks from college, and after college. It was what I knew. I was good at it, and I wanted to be a veterinarian. Those plans were dashed when I wasn’t accepted into vet school for a few years in a row. So I went back to what I knew. I worked as a RVT (a RN in the human world) for many years. I would change clinics every so often looking for that “greener pasture”. I never did find it.
So in 2012, I starting looking for an out. Something else to do that would make me happy. I had worked in radio for a bit in the early 2000’s, and I found it extremely enjoyable and rewarding. I came across the world of voice over. I former coworker helped train me and helped me make my first demo and got me on the way. I’ve been doing it ever since. But, am I happy? It’s not a straightforward answer.
I recently was introduced to a lady by the name of Emily Esfahani Smith. She works in the field of psychology and philosophy to write and speak about fulfillment, satisfaction, belonging, and meaning. She talks about why everyone is so unhappy in the world now. By all accounts, life is so much better than it was say, in the 1500’s, but suicide rates are up, depression and anxiety are way up. She took on the topic of happiness in a TED talk. I would highly recommend taking the 12 minutes to watch it. It will cause you to look at everything differently.
Emily discusses 4 pillars of a meaningful life. Belonging, Purpose, Transcendence and Storytelling. Go watch the video if you want the the full scoop. For me the one pillar that stuck out was Purpose. She talks about finding your purpose in life, be it from your family (ie raising kids) or from your job. The line that got me thinking was “Purpose is less about what you want, but more about what you give”.
It’s not about what you want, but more about what you give. What you want vs what you’re able to give. In voiceover, what do we want? Well, we want to be paid, we want praise for a good read, we want to book that job and be hired, right? Flip that over. What are we giving? Are you giving your best reads or are you rolling out of bed and not really putting in the effort? Are you giving your time to training or your time to market? When you submit a proposal or an audition, the client doesn’t care what you are or how experienced you are or what your mic is. They want to know what you can give to them. How you can make their lives easier. Giving all of what you have every time and the way to success. You’ll book more, you’ll earn more, you will be more satisfied. You’ll find that purpose in giving to others and in the end, you’ll be happy.