Impostor Syndrome, Self-Doubt & Other Negative Thinking
Sept 21, 2021 23:18:06 GMT -8
Brittany Ann Phillips, Kevin Liberty, and 1 more like this
Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Sept 21, 2021 23:18:06 GMT -8
It's time for another long-overdue mindset article!
If you’ve been around our Discord server or other places where actors tend to congregate, chances are you’ve heard the term “impostor syndrome” come up more than once. Impostor syndrome typically refers to feeling as if you don’t deserve your accomplishments; that you just happened to “get lucky” or that you’re secretly a fraud who somehow managed to fool people into thinking you’re good enough to hire.
Sound familiar? Here are examples of a few thoughts that may come to mind if you are dealing with impostor syndrome:
"Wow, I feel pretty called out right now. But…how does one get over impostor syndrome?"
However, the following tips may help you…
Get out of your head.
One of the most important acting techniques involves being in the moment, being authentic, and being believable. It’s hard to get into a character’s mind if you’re focused on how you sound and whether or not you’re doing a good job or whether you’ll get hired by these clients again or whether random people on the Internet will like your performance when the project is out. Any time or energy spent on these insecurities takes away from being in the moment and bringing your best self to the job. Your character isn’t thinking about whether or not someone else on the line thinks they sound good or not; they’re just speaking their truth! And often, the best and most raw performances come out when you get out of your head and into your character’s head. Leave your own emotional baggage at the door and allow yourself to experience the emotions in the scene itself.
Understand that “earning” a role is entirely subjective.
Your anxiety may compel you to cheapen your accomplishments by attempting to rationalize that you didn’t technically earn or deserve a role or opportunity you got.
Keep in mind that there are many factors that go into whether someone is chosen for a role. Some are in your control; some are not. Remember that casting is ultimately subjective, based on the opinion of one person, a few people, or a team of people who choose who they believe is the best fit for a role based on a variety of factors. Much of this is out of your hands aside from simply working towards being a good performer and turning in quality auditions.
Similarly, if you hear other actors snark about how someone only got cast for a role because they’re friends with the casting director, or because a more accomplished actor wasn’t available or was too expensive, or because they have a lot of social media followers, it can make you question your own worthiness when it’s your turn in the spotlight. Recognize that a lot of these comments stem from insecurity and jealousy. As long as you are not behaving in an underhanded or morally reprehensible manner to climb your way to the top, it is not anyone else’s business how you got cast in a project.
Recognize that your favorite pros deal with it too.
Guess what: Impostor syndrome never really goes away! It may surprise you to learn that even some of the top actors in LA who have long lists of IMDB credits, great agents, fanbases, and full-time work in the business also have moments of feeling like a fraud or a failure. Everyone has their own internal struggles, but because it can be considered professionally taboo to voice these struggles on a public platform, you’ll probably never know until you’re close friends with them.
REPEAT AFTER ME: SOCIAL MEDIA IS FAKE.
Resist the urge to publicly air all your insecurities.
There’s a difference between being transparent about the struggles of the business, and simply putting yourself down. Remember that when it comes to your public platforms, you are still selling yourself as a brand and trying to attract clients to hire you. If you post about how you think you’re a terrible actor and how you barely ever work, why would a potential client want to pay someone who apparently no one else wants to hire? Take pride in your accomplishments and be confident, but without being an obnoxious braggart.
Have a support system both inside and outside of the industry.
You are influenced by the people you spend the most time interacting with. If your friends are always snarky and negative, it’s easy to start adopting those behaviors. If they always put you down or pick on you because of your insecurities, even jokingly, it’s easy to internalize it. You should be surrounded by people whom you can support and who will support you in turn. Sometimes, this can be a balancing act. If your “friend” is always resentful and jealous of your accomplishments rather than congratulating you, this may not be someone you want in your closer inner circle. At the same time, it’s important to exercise tact and compassion: your friend who just got dropped from her agency and is struggling to find work may not want to hear about how you just made enough money from that national commercial gig to buy a new car.
It’s also extremely important to have friends outside the entertainment industry. This will help provide you with perspective and get you out of hyperfocusing on the acting world. Plan activities with your friends that don’t involve work: hiking, video game or board game nights, watching a bad movie, etc.
Take a realistic and balanced approach to how you see yourself and your career.
Perspective is important. The next time you catch yourself in a loop of negative self-talk, try to reword your statements to be more grounded in reality.
Example of negative self-talk:
"I’m a total failure. I will never be successful at acting. Other people around me who are much younger than me are already much farther ahead in their careers. I’ve already been at this for years and I only have a few professional credits, and only 500 Twitter followers, while my peers have thousands. I can’t get an agent because I’m clearly bad at what I do. And I only get auditions from a few talent pools, most of which I rarely book."
"I am not a failure, but right now I am feeling discouraged because I am not working as much as I’d like to be. Sometimes I feel like I am playing catch-up compared to younger talent, but that’s okay because it’s not a race and I still have many years ahead of me to achieve my goals. I’ve already been fortunate enough to have a few professional credits, which many people would love to have. There are 500 people on Twitter who care enough about what I do to want to follow my posts and interact with me. I can’t get an agent right now because it’s a tough and competitive market, but I’ll keep working to improve my skills. I am grateful to receive opportunities from several talent pools, but I would like to keep expanding.”
If you are a negative thinker, or you struggle with depression, it can be all too easy to see the worst in any situation, or make up excuses as to why your achievements don’t count or why you really ARE a fraud who somehow managed to “trick” people into thinking you’re good at what you do. But if you start falling down a rabbit hole of self-loathing, try to at the very least reframe your statements into opinions rather than undeniable facts. For example, instead of “I am a failure”, say “I feel like a failure right now.” This simple alteration of wording can help you remember that 1) your feeling - while valid - is only your perspective, and 2) it doesn’t have to be permanent.
If your anxiety won’t let you do this, think about the worst thing that could realistically happen and deconstruct why it’s not actually as bad as you think.
Let’s take a fairly common scenario that happens to many actors: You have a session with a new director, and it doesn’t go well. Maybe they’re not happy with your reads, maybe you feel you’re off your game or that the character is a miscast, maybe you’re messing up on your lines or doing take after take and still not getting it. You think, ”This session was absolutely terrible. I’m going to be blacklisted by this director and possibly the entire studio.”
First, give yourself a reality check. Understand that 1) many people have bad sessions from time to time, and 2) chances are it wasn’t as bad as you think and you are being extra critical of yourself. Things that you thought were a huge deal, like messing up on your lines, perhaps the director barely noticed or didn’t think much of it because it is normal for actors to stumble on lines here and there. Perhaps they are very particular in general and ask for lots of takes not just from you, but from everyone they work with. I have read comments from directors that said they were surprised to receive an apology from an actor who thought they totally bombed a session, but in reality the director thought they were completely fine!
But if you’re spiraling in that moment, you probably aren’t going to be able to think rationally. So the next step is you imagine that fear actually coming true. Let’s say your session was as bad as you thought and the director doesn’t want to work with you again. They may make a mental note of this, but very rarely is it permanent. Most directors realize that actors can improve and grow, so you could always get another shot later down the line once you’ve gotten better. Or, they may even forget about you entirely as they are working with so many different people! And even if that’s the case, it may mean you don’t work with this particular director again (at least for a while), but chances are there are other directors at that same studio who will still work with you, and even if not, there are other studios and clients that will work with you. Most “blacklists” are unwritten and informal, and unless you do something horrendously bad, immoral or illegal, it’s actually quite rare to be “universally blacklisted”. One rough session does not mean your career is over!
So oddly enough, after going through this worst-case scenario in your head, you’ll realize it’s not actually as bad as you think.
Understand that you WILL make mistakes, and it's not the end of the world if and when you do.
Everyone makes mistakes, but if it’s not your mistake, you often won’t hear about it. It is easy to beat yourself up over a mistake and quickly let your thoughts spiral into “what if I never work again?!” But as mentioned above, the odds are almost overwhelmingly in your favor that you WILL work again, and you will recover.
So, what to do if you make a mistake?
1. If you are called out on the mistake by someone in charge, own it and apologize.
3. Use it as a learning experience.
Take away what you can from the situation so you can hopefully avoid making a similar mistake going forward.
Consider seeing a therapist.
While venting to friends or people on the Internet may temporarily help you feel better, it’s not a substitute for meeting with a mental health professional. Depending on where you live, therapy is not always affordable or accessible, but if you have the privilege to do so, try to make your mental health a priority.
And finally, recognize that your feelings are valid.
If you’ve been around our Discord server or other places where actors tend to congregate, chances are you’ve heard the term “impostor syndrome” come up more than once. Impostor syndrome typically refers to feeling as if you don’t deserve your accomplishments; that you just happened to “get lucky” or that you’re secretly a fraud who somehow managed to fool people into thinking you’re good enough to hire.
Sound familiar? Here are examples of a few thoughts that may come to mind if you are dealing with impostor syndrome:
- ”I’m not really a good actor. I just got lucky enough to get a few really good parts.”
- “I’m not sure why this agency decided to sign me. My friend is more deserving of the opportunity…they should’ve gotten signed before I did.”
- “The only reason I have a career is because I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
- “I only got picked for this role because the casting director knows me and likes me.”
- “I don’t know why these people say they’re my fans. Why would anyone be a fan of ME? I’m nobody.”
- “I’m not actually a professional. People just pay me to do these jobs for some reason.”
- “I was only cast because this other actor I kind of sound like was too busy or charged too much money.”
- “It’s just a fluke that I’m doing well right now. Sooner or later people will realize I’m not good and stop hiring me.”
"Wow, I feel pretty called out right now. But…how does one get over impostor syndrome?"
Short answer: you don’t.
...
That's right. Many people in the industry, even people who would be considered "successful" by most standards, deal with self-doubt and insecurity and negative thinking.
Get out of your head.
One of the most important acting techniques involves being in the moment, being authentic, and being believable. It’s hard to get into a character’s mind if you’re focused on how you sound and whether or not you’re doing a good job or whether you’ll get hired by these clients again or whether random people on the Internet will like your performance when the project is out. Any time or energy spent on these insecurities takes away from being in the moment and bringing your best self to the job. Your character isn’t thinking about whether or not someone else on the line thinks they sound good or not; they’re just speaking their truth! And often, the best and most raw performances come out when you get out of your head and into your character’s head. Leave your own emotional baggage at the door and allow yourself to experience the emotions in the scene itself.
Understand that “earning” a role is entirely subjective.
Your anxiety may compel you to cheapen your accomplishments by attempting to rationalize that you didn’t technically earn or deserve a role or opportunity you got.
Keep in mind that there are many factors that go into whether someone is chosen for a role. Some are in your control; some are not. Remember that casting is ultimately subjective, based on the opinion of one person, a few people, or a team of people who choose who they believe is the best fit for a role based on a variety of factors. Much of this is out of your hands aside from simply working towards being a good performer and turning in quality auditions.
Similarly, if you hear other actors snark about how someone only got cast for a role because they’re friends with the casting director, or because a more accomplished actor wasn’t available or was too expensive, or because they have a lot of social media followers, it can make you question your own worthiness when it’s your turn in the spotlight. Recognize that a lot of these comments stem from insecurity and jealousy. As long as you are not behaving in an underhanded or morally reprehensible manner to climb your way to the top, it is not anyone else’s business how you got cast in a project.
And even if you convince yourself that you only got hired because you’re friends with the casting director, so what? People like to hire people they know and like. This may not be “fair”, but it is the reality of the industry you chose to go into. And while knowing the right people or having a big online presence may help give you a little edge, at the end of the day, being a good actor is what’s going to get you farther than any of that. Most of the time, you would not have been cast for the role if they did not at least think you were a decent actor.
"Luck" is not a dirty word.
There is a saying that "luck is when preparation meets opportunity". While preparation and skill are still extremely important factors of success, "luck" is still an element of the business whether we like it or not. So even if you convince yourself that there WAS an element of luck in an opportunity you got - which there very often is, by the way - that doesn't mean that you aren't qualified or didn't deserve to have that chance. Luck may work in your favor one day, and a competitor's favor the next. You cannot control that. So focus more on the "preparation" bit, so that when "opportunity" does come along, you are ready for it.
Recognize that your favorite pros deal with it too.
Guess what: Impostor syndrome never really goes away! It may surprise you to learn that even some of the top actors in LA who have long lists of IMDB credits, great agents, fanbases, and full-time work in the business also have moments of feeling like a fraud or a failure. Everyone has their own internal struggles, but because it can be considered professionally taboo to voice these struggles on a public platform, you’ll probably never know until you’re close friends with them.
REPEAT AFTER ME: SOCIAL MEDIA IS FAKE.
Yes, this is in ALL CAPS because it is that important.
You're only seeing their successes, not their failures.
Everyone cultivates an image because it’s part of playing the game.
They’re dealing with the same problems you are.
For every role announcement they make, there may be 100 other roles they auditioned for that they didn't book.
If it’s stressing you out? Put the phone down and stop scrolling. Go do something productive. Sign up for a class. Learn a new accent. Cold-email a potential new client.
Resist the urge to publicly air all your insecurities.
There’s a difference between being transparent about the struggles of the business, and simply putting yourself down. Remember that when it comes to your public platforms, you are still selling yourself as a brand and trying to attract clients to hire you. If you post about how you think you’re a terrible actor and how you barely ever work, why would a potential client want to pay someone who apparently no one else wants to hire? Take pride in your accomplishments and be confident, but without being an obnoxious braggart.
Have a support system both inside and outside of the industry.
You are influenced by the people you spend the most time interacting with. If your friends are always snarky and negative, it’s easy to start adopting those behaviors. If they always put you down or pick on you because of your insecurities, even jokingly, it’s easy to internalize it. You should be surrounded by people whom you can support and who will support you in turn. Sometimes, this can be a balancing act. If your “friend” is always resentful and jealous of your accomplishments rather than congratulating you, this may not be someone you want in your closer inner circle. At the same time, it’s important to exercise tact and compassion: your friend who just got dropped from her agency and is struggling to find work may not want to hear about how you just made enough money from that national commercial gig to buy a new car.
It’s also extremely important to have friends outside the entertainment industry. This will help provide you with perspective and get you out of hyperfocusing on the acting world. Plan activities with your friends that don’t involve work: hiking, video game or board game nights, watching a bad movie, etc.
Take a realistic and balanced approach to how you see yourself and your career.
Perspective is important. The next time you catch yourself in a loop of negative self-talk, try to reword your statements to be more grounded in reality.
Example of negative self-talk:
"I’m a total failure. I will never be successful at acting. Other people around me who are much younger than me are already much farther ahead in their careers. I’ve already been at this for years and I only have a few professional credits, and only 500 Twitter followers, while my peers have thousands. I can’t get an agent because I’m clearly bad at what I do. And I only get auditions from a few talent pools, most of which I rarely book."
Example of how you can reword the above statement to a more realistic and healthy perspective:
"I am not a failure, but right now I am feeling discouraged because I am not working as much as I’d like to be. Sometimes I feel like I am playing catch-up compared to younger talent, but that’s okay because it’s not a race and I still have many years ahead of me to achieve my goals. I’ve already been fortunate enough to have a few professional credits, which many people would love to have. There are 500 people on Twitter who care enough about what I do to want to follow my posts and interact with me. I can’t get an agent right now because it’s a tough and competitive market, but I’ll keep working to improve my skills. I am grateful to receive opportunities from several talent pools, but I would like to keep expanding.”
If you are a negative thinker, or you struggle with depression, it can be all too easy to see the worst in any situation, or make up excuses as to why your achievements don’t count or why you really ARE a fraud who somehow managed to “trick” people into thinking you’re good at what you do. But if you start falling down a rabbit hole of self-loathing, try to at the very least reframe your statements into opinions rather than undeniable facts. For example, instead of “I am a failure”, say “I feel like a failure right now.” This simple alteration of wording can help you remember that 1) your feeling - while valid - is only your perspective, and 2) it doesn’t have to be permanent.
If your anxiety won’t let you do this, think about the worst thing that could realistically happen and deconstruct why it’s not actually as bad as you think.
Let’s take a fairly common scenario that happens to many actors: You have a session with a new director, and it doesn’t go well. Maybe they’re not happy with your reads, maybe you feel you’re off your game or that the character is a miscast, maybe you’re messing up on your lines or doing take after take and still not getting it. You think, ”This session was absolutely terrible. I’m going to be blacklisted by this director and possibly the entire studio.”
First, give yourself a reality check. Understand that 1) many people have bad sessions from time to time, and 2) chances are it wasn’t as bad as you think and you are being extra critical of yourself. Things that you thought were a huge deal, like messing up on your lines, perhaps the director barely noticed or didn’t think much of it because it is normal for actors to stumble on lines here and there. Perhaps they are very particular in general and ask for lots of takes not just from you, but from everyone they work with. I have read comments from directors that said they were surprised to receive an apology from an actor who thought they totally bombed a session, but in reality the director thought they were completely fine!
But if you’re spiraling in that moment, you probably aren’t going to be able to think rationally. So the next step is you imagine that fear actually coming true. Let’s say your session was as bad as you thought and the director doesn’t want to work with you again. They may make a mental note of this, but very rarely is it permanent. Most directors realize that actors can improve and grow, so you could always get another shot later down the line once you’ve gotten better. Or, they may even forget about you entirely as they are working with so many different people! And even if that’s the case, it may mean you don’t work with this particular director again (at least for a while), but chances are there are other directors at that same studio who will still work with you, and even if not, there are other studios and clients that will work with you. Most “blacklists” are unwritten and informal, and unless you do something horrendously bad, immoral or illegal, it’s actually quite rare to be “universally blacklisted”. One rough session does not mean your career is over!
So oddly enough, after going through this worst-case scenario in your head, you’ll realize it’s not actually as bad as you think.
Understand that you WILL make mistakes, and it's not the end of the world if and when you do.
Everyone makes mistakes, but if it’s not your mistake, you often won’t hear about it. It is easy to beat yourself up over a mistake and quickly let your thoughts spiral into “what if I never work again?!” But as mentioned above, the odds are almost overwhelmingly in your favor that you WILL work again, and you will recover.
So, what to do if you make a mistake?
1. If you are called out on the mistake by someone in charge, own it and apologize.
Depending on the severity of the offense, this could be anything from a quick verbal “sorry about that” to a more formal email. You do not need to go overkill on this—-for example, writing a full essay over email to apologize for labeling your files wrong would be more off-putting than the act of mislabeling them in the first place!
2. Rectify the situation immediately, if possible, to minimize the damage caused.
Let’s say you accidentally announced a role in a project a day too early. Delete the post as soon as you are aware and do not call any further public attention to it. Thought your session was tomorrow, but it was actually today? Ask if they’d still like you to come in, and if so, get there as soon as possible ready to work.
3. Use it as a learning experience.
Take away what you can from the situation so you can hopefully avoid making a similar mistake going forward.
4. When appropriate, don’t put the blame entirely on yourself.
Let’s say a director is very unclear in the notes they are giving, and then chides you for not taking direction well, but you’ve been complimented on how well you take direction by others. If you are doing your best to listen and interpret their notes but they don’t make sense to you and asking for clarification isn’t helping, there’s only so much you can do, and it’s probably not really your fault, so try not to take it too personally.
Consider seeing a therapist.
While venting to friends or people on the Internet may temporarily help you feel better, it’s not a substitute for meeting with a mental health professional. Depending on where you live, therapy is not always affordable or accessible, but if you have the privilege to do so, try to make your mental health a priority.
And finally, recognize that your feelings are valid.
It is completely normal, especially in the entertainment industry, to feel inadequate or unworthy compared to others in your field. Recognize these feelings for what they are and own them, but try not to let them dominate your thoughts or your career.
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I’m a female voice actor with a High pitched, normal and robotic voice and I can also do British accents! I do murder drones and I could try any other and I can follow scripts! Send me an email if you need me! (Mahatareq09@yahoo.com)