SELF-VALIDATION: ANXIOUS GIRLY EDITION.

Hey hey team. Happy Sunday. How have you all been? Please let me know, I love chit chatting with you all. This week for me has been A LOT and I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed atm. If I haven’t answered your text, please know I love you and I’ll reply asap. Mwah. I started my new muggle job this week ahhhh. Exciting but scary. I love it. Having the best time and I couldn’t be more grateful. Now, this is a vulnerable one for me. I’m writing this with a few lil butterflies in my tummy but I feel this topic is so important to talk about and I hope, if you also feel how I’m feeling too, we can overcome this together.

Let’s talk: Imposter Syndrome. This is something I have had for many years now and some days are better than others. Giving yourself validation as an actor can sometimes be extremely challenging. I find when filming a self-tape or being in the waiting room for an audition, sometimes there’s a little voice in my head telling me that I don’t deserve to be there and I am SUPER untalented. Not just as an actor, in any job and any career imposter syndrome is something that happens to so many of us. I want to let you know that it is so normal to sometimes feel like you’re not good enough or feeling like you’re not doing enough. I promise you. You are.

Okay, I want to chat with you all about some of the things I do that enable me to control these thoughts. Self-validation is without a doubt a journey with many highs and lows but I find encouraging myself to do these things, helps me love myself a little bit more. Here goes. Let’s get vulnerable. I keep a photo of my younger self in my bedside drawer. Whenever I begin to criticize myself wayyyy too much I simply look at the photo. She was so excited about growing up and chasing her dreams, she had no doubt in her mind that it would happen for her one day. She could literally picture herself making her West End debut and living her dream life. She was care-free, conscious of herself but never critical and saw the world with so much colour. Sometimes we just need to see the world through the eyes of our younger self. Take a step back and remind yourself of WHY you decided to take this path. Granted, younger me didn’t understand all the hard-times and set-backs that I would have to face in order to live my dream and believe me there is and I know will continue to be A LOT of rejection in this industry but what I want to channel is her constant self-belief that she could literally do anything. There was not a doubt in her mind it would happen. Remember those times and channel that mindset, believe you can do anything you put your mind to and it will happen.

STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO WHAT YOU SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Please. It’s not real. It is simply a highlight reel. Gosh, some days all I want to do a stay in my PJs and RELAX and I love it, rest is so productive. Then I see people on Instagram out for their morning run at 5am and announcing their dream shows along with the gorgeous holidays and trips they’ve been on and I suddenly think to myself, oh, I am not doing enough. Babes, listen to me when I say, yes you may see people posting about their lives in a positive way and that is amazing, I love that they are having such a great time but remember that not every day looks like that for anyone. No one is that happy all the time. We are allowed to be angry and upset and just simply sad without any explanation. WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS WITH HUMAN EMOTIONS. Just because you are living your dream life doesn’t mean you lose the ability to feel negative emotions. It is part of us. Allow yourself to feel and know that no one’s life is perfect. If you feel yourself beginning to compare your life to others, simply take a step back from social media and just be present. Take a big breath in and allow yourself the time to relax.

I know my imposter syndrome will always be there but what I can do is find ways to take control of it and not let it win. I know you can too. If you ever need anything and want to chat, please don’t hesitate to reach out, we are in this together.

Have a gorgeous Sunday babes.

Big love always,

Lucy Xxx