Struggling with what I can and can’t control is something I well, struggle with on a daily, even hourly basis. Yesterday was the 6 year anniversary of my Mom passing away. That event has affected me more than I care to admit or realize. Her passing was sudden and unexpected. It came at a time when we had a lot of stress. She had been toying with the idea of moving to an assisted living facility for years. We had visited so many of them. Each time my mom said no. She found a place that she really liked on her own and was all set up. She started having second thoughts and wanted to explore an at home nurse. She died the night before she was scheduled to move. It really shook me.

I am an only child. My parents split up when I was 12-13, I don’t remember exactly. My mom had main custody with visits to my dad, so she took over the majority of the parenting. I was always there for her when she needed anything and she was there for me if I ever needed advice or help. After she died, I was thrust into the head role. There wasn’t anyone “above” me that I could count on. There was no safety net. That’s when I realized I was in charge and also that life can be taken away just that quickly. That’s when the anxiety started. I wanted to have control over all of it, and I was finding out exactly how little control I did indeed have.

I had started going back to church earlier in 2016 as I was feeling that something was missing in my life. It’s really helped me in the sense of letting things go to God and letting him handle it. What’s that serenity prayer? About controlling what you can and knowing the difference of things you can’t control? That’s the secret.

The more I try to control things in my life, the more they slip through my fingers. There’s bad news on the news, the stock market is bad, the gas prices go up. Can I control those things? No. What can I control? I can control me and my reactions to those events.

It’s like that in voiceover. What can you control in voiceover? Your performance and your quality of sound. You can’t control the casting director’s reaction to your audition, you can’t control what they want to cast. You can control what you can and you have to let the rest go.

I get in my head so much these days. Slower times in voiceover allow you the space to get into your head and mess you up. It’s a terrible thing. I am going on a solo dad trip this week to Utah and Wyoming. I am going to dig fossils, visit Kin Digit garage from the show Bitchin Rides, go to Black Rifle Coffee shop (even though I don’t drink coffee), tour the Bonneville Salt Flats and maybe even sit at a blackjack table in a casino just over the border in Nevada. I’m not taking my travel rig, I’m not going to be connected at all. I need the break from the job and my mind. I can control going on this trip. It will be nice to get away.

What are you struggling with controlling in your life or voiceover business? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.