Why Is It So Scary To Be Seen And Heard?
Have you ever noticed yourself holding back from being seen and heard? You don’t have to be a performing artist to feel the fear that can come up around being exposed. Oftentimes being seen and heard requires a huge level of visibility and therefore vulnerability. And within that vulnerability there can be shaky questions that come up. Will you be attacked for being too much? Rejected and or shamed? Will you lose someone’s love? Will you ever be enough? Are you are fully loveable?
So imagine the perfect opportunity presented itself to you. The best venue for your work, the best audience, even the best team. Would you be ready and willing to fully receive it? In this moment would you allow yourself to shine...or would you find a way to unravel and undermine it in some way? Sometimes I feel like this is the real, core work of learning about the voice and or how to sing. Understanding the ways in which we all hold ourselves back and the ways in which we allow ourselves to flow with the tide.
Whether you consider yourself a singer or not, your level of comfort or discomfort with your voice can show up in a multitude of ways. If you really want to sing and really want to make an impact with your voice and your art, there still may be an ingrained habit of dimming your own light. You may shy away from sharing your accomplishments, procrastinate when opportunities present themselves to reveal new work, find ways to get out of meeting people or potential collaborators, compare yourself or compete with others when you might have to show up as your authentic self.
Your voice shows up in your personal and work relationships. In your fears of expressing your honest opinions. It can show up in your art and how you negotiate or make decisions or collaborate. It can show up in how or whether you nurture yourself as an artist. Do you delay to register for lessons or classes that you know will help you? Do you postpone rehearsals, not texting or emailing people back? Your level of comfort with yourself can show up as overwhelm and scattered thoughts when you decide you want to step up and be more seen. It can show up as overworking yourself day and night so that you go from working non-stop to burning out and then being forced to stop. Trust me, I know from personal experience.
And the thing is you’e not alone. You are not wrong for being scared to be seen. It’s human. The impact your voice makes not only in the world but also your life is quite great. That’s why it’s so valuable to take a hold of support and connect to your voice in a holistic, whole body way. There are a lot of external and internal forces at work trying to disrupt your voice from being fully heard. And I want to support you to ensure that it does get heard and that it feels good in the process. So tell me (because I would love to hear from you)….really, please write me back:). Let me know do you have a fear of being seen or heard and what would make you feel safe dipping your toes in the water?