The Strange Importance of a Vacation

I may be speaking for myself here, but as long as I have been into voice overs, acting, and theatre, I noticed that professionals in that business do something no other business professionals do; they never take a vacation. I have heard some explanations for this:

• I love my work, and my life feels like a vacation.
• I do not work enough, so my vacation comes when I do not have a job to do.

I am guilty of this myself. If anyone has ever gone to Times Square, NYC at any point, you will find that the waiters are well-spoken, beautiful, friendly, charming, and easy to talk with. The reason is because they are all into performing arts of some sort. From my time working in Times Square, I remember the busiest time of the year was when the regular 9-to-5 folks were on holiday. This meant I led my life on the opposite schedule of what most of the world was operating on.

If you are just starting out in this business, and you find that you live on the opposite side of the entire world's schedule, I share with you some advice to avoid burning out:

• Make sure you take a vacation during the time that the 9-to5 people take theirs.

You may find my reasoning strange, but there valid reasons as to why this should be done.

• When you work on the opposite of everyone's schedule, you begin to feel somewhat lonely or feel that you work for the entire world, with no time to yourself. I say this because if your time is during the day time, and you only work at night, chances are you are waking up late and not getting a chance to do anything for yourself before having to go to work at night. Oddly, I know several people in broadcast news who go through this, and it has led to some of them quitting well-paying jobs.
  

• Working at night, and auditioning all day, usually means 'lost sleep'. It is now proven that 'sleep' is essential for good health as it gives your body a chance to regenerate, and yes, even burn calories! Living healthy will prolong your ability to deal with those times when you have to do entertainment work during the day, and still work at night. Many believe they can manipulate sleep, which is true, but the effects it has on your body can be life-long and very serious.
  

• The 'Vampire' syndrome, when you find yourself while others are tired from their workday. If you are trying to be in a relationship, which we all need to be whether we want to believe so or not, you will need energy. If you are tired when he/she is awake and ready to start the day, or vice versa, you will find you have repeated trouble in relationships even when the person is understanding of your career.
  

So...why a vacation?

• To give your body a break and a chance to enjoy some time to think. Many of us learn a craft, and begin to operate on cruise control after a while. Given that the world changes so quickly these days, we must allow ourselves time to reflect.

• To strengthen relationships with family and loved one's. We all need a support group in this very tough business. Family and friends are important, always.
  

• To get to know 'your audience': No one can deny that when you are in entertainment, basically everyone you meet are the people you hope will be watching your show, or listening to your voice over. Being a performer means understanding 'reality' as in 'what the 9 to 5 folks live though'. If you have no idea how the regular world behaves, it will affect your decision-making as a talent. As much as we may love our job and working all the time, we still have to know how the entire world operates for us to reach people as performers.
  

• To achieve peace of mind. Did you know that a recent survey showed that the USA is the 48th happiest country in the world? Take a look at this article. The third happiest country is Colombia, and Denmark is the happiest. Think about that...for all the people in the USA that work so hard to 'do what they love', why is it that countries making only a small fraction of the USA's per capita income indicated they were happier than so many other countries. Are we really doing what we love, or just working ridiculously hard to stay above sea level.

Basically, if you do not vacation...you will never have time to think and discover for yourself what you appreciate most. Without that downtime, after a while you will begin to lose the inspiration as to why you do what you love to begin with.

I see this to everyone, and to myself...The summer goes by quickly. Go out and enjoy life.

This time of year is slow, but after Labor Day, it will pick up again at full speed. When that happens you need to make sure you are well-rested!

Peace,
Steven
Voice123.com