How to Overcome Feelings of Inadequacy in Voice Acting

Self-worth is something that everyone deals with on a day to day basis.  Actors and Actresses, voice, stage or otherwise also struggle with this just like anyone else. I’m no different, some days I feel really good about myself and my work, while others not so much, and every now and then like I’m fooling myself, crumpling into a ball of tears.

I think too many people feel others are immune to these feelings of inadequacy, especially those they tend to admire or compare themselves with. I’m guilty of feeling this way too; Like oh man, ___ is so successful, I bet they never get depressed, or hit a drought of work, or need to breathe air, or eat to live. But that’s not the case!

So that’s why I’m writing this blog entry now, to show that no one is alone in this, and how I personally cope, and get these feelings in check.

Over the six years I’ve been voice acting, I’ve hit many highs and lows, but I have also seen extremely talented males and female’s battle with their own self-worth. These are people I admire, aspire to be like, who have wonderful accomplishments to their name – I couldn’t fathom how they felt this way.

When I look at them I see nothing but brilliant, talented people who are incredibly successful. Yet I’ve heard one say they hate their own work and won’t even listen to the project they just completed, another become depressed after voicing in a very popular widely known video game, asking “what did I expect to happen? It was just a role.” And others wanted to give up all together. It is truly heartbreaking.

Oddly enough when I first started voice acting, I never had problems with self-worth. I struggled with being too sensitive and developing that mythical ‘hardened-skin’ that would allow me to eat critiques and rejection for breakfast. But never did I feel like, I wasn’t good enough, just that, I’ll get there through hard work someday.

So during that time when I would see people I admire become depressed after getting wonderful resume credited work, high paying jobs, and voicing in real video games/animated series – it boggled my mind how they could be depressed! They didn’t see how amazing they were, and I couldn’t understand why.

But as years passed, and I began to do more and more, I too started to become depressed and occasionally doubt myself and my ability. I started to understand them. Even after I obtained that rare hardened skin, handled rejection nonchalantly, acquired the ability to enjoy constructive criticism, used harsh critiques to improve, and so forth – I would still get sad.

At times nothing I did felt good enough. I’d feel like I wasn’t good enough. I never dreamt of quitting, even at my lowest, but my expectations for myself continually grew – if I didn’t have a job lined up every day, I would get upset at myself. I would compare how I was doing to big name, already-established voice actors and actresses and get down on myself. I would feel like I was running out of time, basing my accomplishments or lack thereof off of those around me, and setting myself deadlines based off of my age. And all of that is ridiculous and does nothing but hurt.

I appreciated every single thing I worked on; no matter how big or small, don’t get me wrong there. I would always put my heart completely into the jobs given, and give my best shot, I would enjoy everything. It wasn’t until I was done and started comparing myself to others that I would feel like I wasn’t doing enough. I’d start nitpicking things, or agonizing over the status of the latest audition.

Slowly over time, my accomplishments started being overshadowed by what I wasn’t doing, or what others were, and I began to feel inadequate.

So where do these feelings come from, why? There’s a multitude of reasons to be sure. Voice Over itself is incredibly competitive, and even though the mantra is ‘thick skin’, dealing with rejection on a daily basis – no matter who you are – does take its toll.

We’ve heard it a million times, rejection is almost constant, no – you won’t get every role, if it’s not a constructive critique don’t bother listening to it – and this is all good advice - but it can still hurt. We’re people after all.

I think, somewhere, things stopped being just for fun. Somewhere it became a contest, a means to an end of credit building and name dropping, a race between people who share your passion.

The feedback of people you’ve never met or will meet became more important than the feeling of a job accomplished. The fear of another rejection crippled you from trying, and getting that role.

That fear of rejection I see the most, and I’m guilty of it too. When you audition, and audition – and audition some more, especially on sites like Voices.com – and don’t land anything, it can cripple your self-esteem and drive. But the key is to keep pushing, to keep going.

If you let that rejection cripple you, if you let that rejection prevent you from trying again, or trying right away – then you’ll never get that role. How can you land it, or get cast, if you don’t even try? How can they hear you? How can they consider you for future projects, even if you don’t land this one, if you didn’t audition from the get-go?

It is uncanny how many times I have just about given up on auditioning on voices.com for a while, after countless fruitless auditions, and I give myself that extra push to keep going – and boom, I end up nailing that last audition and get the role.

Or I’ll see the amount of people who have already auditioned, and be discouraged – but then I’ll try anyway, end up being number 156 or something, and get the part.

Or I’ll be intimidated by the voice type/age range asked of the part, but try anyway, and to my surprise get that role.

There are times I won’t get that part at all, but because I simply auditioned and left an impression on the casting director/producer, I’ll have unknowingly opened the door for future roles – this has happened a lot.

So, if you do nothing out of fear of rejection, you will literally gain nothing. You honestly have nothing to lose, and it can be hard, but you NEED to keep pushing forward. I’ve learned this over time and I cannot stress its importance enough.

Stop being negative, change your perspective and keep going.

Examples;
____________________________

You didn’t land that role you really wanted? It’s true no one is perfectly suited for every role, and trust me it can suck if you really wanted to work on something. But there will be more opportunities for you, specifically! Plus, that other actor/actress who booked the job is working just as hard as you, and dealing with the same consistency of rejection. This is their 1 in 30, so be happy for them. You’ll get yours, promise. 

Did you get a callback but still not land the role? Cheer up! The director wanted to hear more from you, which means they enjoyed your work to begin with! Take pride that you were one of the final choices. I’ve been called back for roles and not obtained them, been given compliments on an audition, and then heard nothing –had a nice little thumbs up on voices.com, a callback and then nothing. But you know what, I stopped being down about it and realized that it’s a good sign. They enjoy my work and it’s a good sign. It’s silly to get down about that!

Someone’s rude comment about your work got you down? Who is the person to you? Do you even know them? These are the kind of questions I ask myself if I see a rude comment that is not even slightly constructive in regards to something that I’ve done. It helps realizing that in the grand scheme of things they don’t matter, but honestly forgoing reading comments all-together is the best bet.

I don’t mean ignore constructive criticism, I mean ignore the youtube comments you may find on a piece of work, or on the forum section of that latest video game you recorded in. If you’re looking for feedback, ask experienced people you know for quality critiques. Besides, the Director hired you for a reason, remember that.

Comparing yourself/career to others? This can be hard, I’m horribly guilty of it, but it needs to stop. Everyone is different, everyone’s journey is different. You have no idea what they had to do to get where they are, or what their journey was like. The fun thing is the journey never ends, it’s on-going. It’s a different speed for everyone, with different opportunities tailored to you. Stop looking at others, and start looking at yourself and what’s around you. Take advantage of what YOU have going for YOU and what YOU can do.  Doors will open, and you’ll be much happier for it.

There are projects I’ve wanted to be a part of in the past but was unable to be for various reasons; the project was completed long before I even started voice acting, I just didn’t get cast, location prevented me, and so on. However, I’ve been blessed with so many wonderful projects and opportunities that I didn’t even know existed!

Dust: An Elysian Tail, Dread Out, Detective Grimoire, Malevolence: The Sword of Ahkranox among many, many others. By focusing on the projects I’ve been a part of, and all of the new things I don’t even know are there and have yet to be a part of, I feel happier. I stop comparing myself. So focus on your own achievements positively and I bet you’ll be happier too!

Bitter/Spiteful/Jealous of Others? Why are you feeling this way? Figure it out, then let go of these feelings. Chances are these people go through similar struggles that you do and worked their asses off to get where they are. Stop letting the negative weigh you down, and use that energy to work YOUR ass off. Let these people you’ve been jealous of inspire you, chances are you just admire them deep down anyway. Let them be motivation to you, stop being bitter about it and start pursuing what you love.  Plus, there will be opportunities that come your way that won’t be available to them, and vice versa. So why spend your valuable time and energy on hate?

I think everyone has been jealous of someone at some point in their lifetime, for one reason or another. Usually they have something you want, or some quality you wish you possessed. This is coupled with comparing yourself, and it just needs to stop. See above section for more on that.

Audition Blues?

Don’t give yourself TIME to get down. Keep pushing. Keep going. Audition for something, give it your best and then forget about it. If it’s meant to be it will come back to you, killing yourself over wondering if you got the part, what that compliment or lack of compliment meant, why the deadline was extended – it’s not worth it.

Audition. Hang it up in the back of your mind, and audition for that next project. Repeat. No matter what happens, even if you don’t get a single role – you’re trying. You’re acting, doing what you love, and you’re building experience just by giving your best shot.

My most successful months for voice acting, are the ones where I audition constantly. Rather than auditioning in short bursts, focusing on those specific three or four projects and waiting for them to be cast. When this happens, all I’m doing is wasting valuable time and opportunities for roles I could be landing.

____________________________

No matter what you do, don’t give up. If you stop – start again. It is so incredibly hard to get back up on your feet and back into the game if you just stop. This can apply to anything. It looks harder, more difficult, you’re rusty, you become unsure, it’s no longer a priority.

But if it is something you love and want to do, then don’t give up. If you stopped, start again – I implore you. Just do it. Don’t regret this.  Don’t let whatever is causing your self-doubt, your feelings of inadequacy win. Because you can fight it, you can change your perspective on things and it will stop bothering you.

It wasn’t until I started suffering from frequent breakdowns that I realized I needed to make a change. Something I loved so passionately was resulting in me crying myself to sleep at night thinking I wasn’t doing enough. All I wanted to do was sleep, and I was beginning to feel burned out.

I was working almost constantly, supporting myself completely off of voice acting and script writing, and somehow I still wasn’t doing enough? I was only 21. It was stupid to feel this way. I was so caught up in comparing myself to those with decades of experience on me that I lost the good feelings of my own accomplishments.

So I put a stop to that way of thinking. Immediately I had less stress and was happier, plus I was able to keep the fun of a project long after it was over. By focusing on the positive I had more energy to pursue more, and I was getting more work, something which could never have happened if I continued to sleep almost constantly.

It’s not easy, and every now and then I can feel myself falling into those old habits of comparing myself to others and hurting my own self-worth, but I stop it when I notice. It takes time, but it’s doable. You can do it too.

The only reason certain people are successful in this world is because they don’t give up. I firmly believe through hard work, determination and passion – anything can be accomplished. But you have to want it, and you have to want to work for it. No more excuses, no more feeling inadequate, no more hating yourself or your work.

I challenge all of you who have read this to open up a sheet of paper and start writing down your good qualities, your accomplishments, your strong points, what you like about yourself, etcetera. Only positive things. Chances are you’ll realize that you’re much more amazing than you’ve been giving yourself credit for, no matter who you are.

I hope it inspires you and whether you’re a Voice Actor/Actress or in a completely different field of passion, it gives you the self-confidence you deserve.