Regrets, I've Had a Few

Just recently someone I was once close to reached out to me with expressing regret. The regret being that we had not spent enough time together in recent years. I replied that I think of regret as a “sad, useless, and wasteful emotion” because it is backward looking rather than forward looking. “Regret” implies that one’s life is somehow incomplete because of actions taken or not taken some time ago.

Not to say that I don’t have regrets (I’ve had a few). Regret can be helpful if used as a learning experience to set us on the right path. But when regret is dwelled upon, it simply festers into a sea of what ifs and is compounded by more bad decisions and more regret. A person living in the past has no focus on the present and no hope for the future.

So how does this translate to voiceover? When I started doing voiceover, people often asked if I regretted not doing it sooner. The answer then was “yes” but now the answer is “no.”  I’ve always had the vocal skills – my family can attest to all the different voices for stuffed animals and the angry, drunken Big Bird impression that makes my kids giggle. The years I spent in sales and marketing and the skills I have learned in those positions have helped me in my voiceover business – how to find and connect with prospective clients, how to communicate in short bursts of focused attention, how to let rejection slide, and how to have no regrets and move forward.

Although, someday I may regret teaching the kids that Big Bird impression (hint: he really hates Elmo).