Thoughts on….NOs

Last month I met my friend David Monteith for lunch.
(At the National Theatre. Not relevant to the story, just a quick mention of the fact that my friend is in a play at the friggin National. Casually)

Anyway, we got talking about the One Voice Awards, it was a couple of days before the end of the submission window.

I said I didn't have much to submit this year but that I was having a go anyway, in just a few categories.

He asked "are you submitting for Female VO of the year?"

I laughed.
I'd not even considered entering that category.

Why not though?
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right?

So I went home that evening, cut together a little compilation of work I'd done in the past year and submitted it.

And well, I made the shortlist. Which is bonkers.

Now please, I don't want lots of congratulary comments on this post. That's not my point.

My point is that I had made the decision that I wasn't "worthy" of that category.

But that's not my decision to make. It's up to the judges, surely?

How often do you not apply to a job, submit an entry or try something new because you tell yourself "I'm not gonna get it anyway"?

Maybe next time, let someone else make that decision.

As scary as it is.
You might just get a giant happy surprise from it.