hi! I think I want to audition for a singing show, but I'm afraid. I'm not very good and my parents probably wouldn't let me do it (I'm only 16). there's a whole lot in my way what with school and anxiety and such, but for some reason I still feel like taking a risk and going for it. I'm afraid of failing and not making it, but I'm also afraid of succeeding, and yet I still really, really want to try. I know I sound ridiculous and impulsive haha, but do you have any advice?? <3 --Jen
Hey Jen! Thank you for coming to me for advice- I'll do my best to help you out. :)
Personally, I think you should audition for this singing show, but its totally up to you. I understand how it feels to not really know what you're really searching for in life. But I also know that if you don't take risks in life, you never really know what you're truly capable of.
If you'd like, you could submit to some a video of you singing and I'll give you my honest opinion. If you don't want to do that, then I totally understand :) I think that you could really benefit from doing this audition. You never know how something will go unless you try :)
Something that helped me with my anxiety is speaking to someone I trust about how I am feeling and what was going on. For example- There was a school talent show when I was in middle school, I was really wanting to do something for it but I wasn't really sure because I don't like crowds and such. I spoke to my therapist and my mom about my concerns and they both told me the same exact thing... Just try. I didn't understand at first when they told me to just try because i was already thinking about that. But sometimes its about what you think about rather than what you don't think about.
It could also be helpful for you if you choose to do this singing audition to bring some friends with you to bring you moral support. Having loved ones around you makes everything a little brighter.
I would like to chat about your social anxiety, when a person has social anxiety or really any form of anxiety it can be hard to think positive of yourself and the things that you can do. I understand that you're really not sure what you want to do here, but I think deep down.. You already know what you are going to do :)
Some suggestions I have for you when you're feeling like you don't know what you want to do:
Weigh the pros and cons of doing this audition and not doing this audition.
Think about what you could benefit from doing this singing audition
Ask those around you on what they think you should do and take their thoughts into counter, but remember that you should do what you feel you want to do. Don't feel pressured to do anything that you're not 100% comfortable with.
Speak to your school, ask them if they have any programs for singing or something along those lines such as choir.
Something else that I think you could really benefit from doing is checking into the following links on social anxiety. Please let me know if they are useful for you :)
Social Anxiety Support (SAS)
What is Social Anxiety? Symptoms, treatments, etc…
Social Anxiety Disorder & Social Phobia
Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment
After you've checked out those links, the next set of advice that I have for you today is some advice on how you can understand some more about your fear to fail and your fear to succeed. it sounds like to me that you could be going though something called perfectionism meaning that no matter how much you do good, you always feel you could do better. Or for another example you could put yourself down but not really see that when you do that, you're not helping your self esteem.
Perfectionism - a double-edged sword
Perfectionism: the road to failure
perfectionism and procrastination
How to Overcome Perfectionism
LEARN TO MANAGE PERFECTIONISM
How to Overcome Perfectionism & Procrastination
Perfectionism - Stress Management
10 Steps To Conquer Perfectionism
perfectionists coping with failure
I would love to know more about what you choose to do, please feel free to message me back and let me know :) Hope this helps! Please let me know if you're ever in the need of some help, advice, support etc. I'm always here and only an ask away. Take care, Xoxo
