Every time I post a video on YouTube, I watch it through my fingers. I know this is not a healthy way to watch myself. But I just can’t help it! I hate the sound of my voice and the way I look on camera.

I know for sure that I am not alone in this. We all struggle with self-criticism.

However, there are some things we can do to overcome our self-criticism (a bit). Here are ten tips that have worked for me over the years:

1. There is no such thing as a bad actor.

2. When you’re on stage, your inner critic is dead wrong.

3. You can’t be insecure about your acting.

4. Just be present in the moment – and don’t judge what’s happening!

5. Put yourself in the hands of a good director, and trust them to give you feedback if you’re doing something odd or unnatural.

6. Remember that you are not on trial – so don’t worry about messing up (you won’t).

7. Don’t think of the audience as “the audience”; they are just people like you and me, who want to be entertained (not insulted).

8. Become friends with other actors – they will help you overcome your fear that everyone else is better than you (hint: they aren’t!).

9. Seek out plays or films where all the characters are flawed – it will make it easier for you to show vulnerability without feeling self-conscious about being “bad” in front of an audience (or camera). And finally…

10. Don’t judge yourself!

1. Remember that your insecurity comes from within you, not from the outside world. It’s not about what others think; it’s about what you think of yourself.

2. Self-critical thoughts are just thoughts like any other thought, but they have been conditioned to have more weight and power than other thoughts. If you are able to see them for what they are, just thoughts and not facts, then you can put their power into perspective.

3. If you can see your self-critical thoughts as an actor in a play, then you can have some distance from them and give them less credence. Remember that they don’t reflect reality; they only reflect how you feel about yourself at that moment in time.

4. Give yourself permission to be human and make mistakes. You don’t need to be perfect all of the time, nor is it possible for anyone to do so! And remember that the mistakes we make can teach us a lot if we let them and take something positive away from them.

5. Practice self-acceptance on a daily basis by noticing when you are being self-critical and then turning the critical voice into one of acceptance and compassion towards yourself. Treat yourself with compassion as if

1. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

We’ve all been told to take ourselves seriously, but when you’re suffering from self-criticism you want to be able to laugh at yourself for the things that you do and think. This is not about degrading yourself or putting yourself down; it’s about recognizing how ridiculous your self-critical voice can be at times, and also how it can make comments that make no sense (and/or are completely untrue).

2. Try not to believe everything you think.

It’s easy to believe that every thought we have is true, but when we’re self-critical this just isn’t the case. What’s true for us one day might not be true for us another day, and what’s true for us might not be true for anyone else at all. In order to live without being controlled by our thoughts (especially our negative ones), we need to learn to question them and become more mindful of what we’re thinking, feeling, and saying.

3. Don’t try so hard!

When we’re overly self-critical, we commonly take on the belief that if we don’t put in maximum effort then others will see us as a failure or will reject us in some way. This can cause a

You know the drill. You take a class and it’s going well. You’re feeling good, getting positive feedback, and then…

You have a bad day in class.

The next week you go to class and you feel terrible. Your mind is full of self-doubt and criticism.

You think to yourself: “I’m not very good at this, am I? I don’t know what I’m doing!”

1. Let it go!

2. Don’t take life so seriously!

3. Ask yourself – Is the criticism true? How can I make it better?

4. Be friendly with criticism!

5. Get into the habit of being positive and supportive towards yourself!

6. Remember that you are your own worst critic!

7. Be kind to yourself and focus on strengths!

8. Identify your core values!

9. Focus on what you have, not what you haven’t got!

10. Learn from criticism and be proud of yourself!