Feeling Funky Post Holidays?

Feeling Funky post holidays? I must say I sure did. After all of the fun times and spending time with family and friends, and  actually stepping away from the voiceover recording booth, I had a blast! We decorated, entertained, went to parties and shopped, of course. On Christmas Day, after we had our own gift opening, we jumped in the car and stopped at a friend’s home for brunch. Then we drove to Chicago to spend the day with my husband’s family. That night we drove back. It was an 14+ hour high-energy day, and returned exhausted. But, when all of the holiday festivities were over, I just felt sad on New Year’s Day.  Part of that feeling was realizing that the face-to-face socialization intensive period of most of December had come to a crashing halt. In the voiceover world, most of us spend untold hours in isolation in a padded cell!

Funky. Funkity Funk! Yuck.

I love what I do so much, but I was bummed that all the fun was, well,  done. All those things I was going to do to take care of business over the typically slow December in the voiceover space, just didn’t happen. The dance card was full of diversions, and I knowingly welcomed them. Reality set in. Damn, I was downright melancholy, and kind of didn’t want it to end.

But part of the funky feeling was guilt, too. Guilty for spending time away from voiceover, and keeping an eye on business! And speaking of the business…2015 was a good year mostly, but  was also disappointing due to some station ownership changes which impacted my radio and television station imaging contracts, and personnel changes at ad agencies resulting in some loss of projected income going into the future.

So how am I working my way out of my funky mood?

1. I think I was actually fatigued. There was a ton of stuff too do; shopping,  places to be, food preparation, entertainment, partying and merriment. I’ve now been working at getting better sleep, and have more positive energy.
2. Taking back some control, and feeling better. I’ve decided to lose some of those pounds, and have started tracking everything I put into my body, and have cut out plenty of carbs. What a wake up call.
3. Exercising. I’ve always been active,and committed to at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity. I walk, ride bikes, and swim and do water areobics. I’ve just added to that with taking a yoga class on Wednesday evenings. It feels good taking care of yourself, plus exercise help keep me healthy and helps relieve stress and releases all those feel-good endorphins into my body.
4. Feeling grateful. Simply experiencing quietitude allows for mental reinforcement of all that I have, including my life, my senses, family, friends, and health.
5. I’ve been listening to my mentor,  Darren Hardy with his daily coaching programs on youtube, aptly named,”Darren Daily”
6.  Instead of freaking out about some contracts that have gone bye-bye, I’ve decided that I will survive this blow to my ego and my bottom line, work harder, and be better. I will not allow financial setbacks and other external factors to define me as a successful female voice talent and artist.

Funky, be gone!

The late author, poet and late civil rights activist Maya Angelou once was quoted;

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

All of this reflection gets me thinking that while you cannot change what’s happened in the past, you can change the path you’re on.  I happened upon the inspiring  Commencement speech by Neil Gaiman, and my favorite new motto is, “Make good art”.

So keep changing, and reinventing. Make it happen!