In this BIT: Winner of So You Think You Can Dance and WondLa star, in this Jeanine Mason interview we explore self-value and confidence.
Actress, dancer, and award-winner. Jeanine Mason is truly iconic. She’s played roles in shows including Grey’sAnatomy and WondLa. At 18, Jeanine also became the youngest winner of So You Think You Can Dance, a fiercely competitive reality dance show. From continuing to dance and tour with SYTYCD and Dancing with the Stars, as well as acting, Jeanine is a beaming light of inspiration. The WondLa star demonstrates that you’re never too young or old to follow your dreams and goals, and be wildly successful. It’s all in the mindset, work ethic, and how you perceive and value yourself.
Despite success and awards, feeling an individual sense of self-worth can be challenging. Whether you are 18 or 68 (or somewhere in between), we all doubt ourselves. We all may doubt what we bring to the table or to relationships. In our Jeanine Mason interview, she opens up about managing feelings of self doubt. Get ready to define your own sense of self worth!
In a world where everyone thinks they know best – wanting to comment (online or in real life), about how good you are at something, the way you look, or another breadth of their opinion, Jeanine urges us to find our people. Identify 3-5 people who can remind you of and ground you in the narrative. Have a scaffolding! These are people you can call and trust to give you honest feedback, praise, and criticism (where needed). Be it people at school, a teacher or coach, or even members within an online community, it is essential to find people whose opinion you trust to help you ground yourself. Then, you can begin to detach your worth from external noise, and base your internal confidence on how you show up for yourself and for those in your community.
There are a lot of quantifiable metrics in our world. However, “realize that you are so much more than a number”, the WondLa star reminds us. “ You are so much more than any given activity that you do or award that you may or may not get…what someone thinks of you, [etc].” A number doesn’t define you. A sport or activity doesn’t define you. How you treat others, and how you feel about yourself, is truly meaningful and long-lasting. Again, Jeanine urges us to shift our view of self-value away from the quantifiable ‘check-listable’ items in life, and towards how we treat others and build relationships.
3. Their Win ≠ Your Loss
You can hold two thoughts within one mind; celebrate your win and someone else’s win. You never know when you may need someone’s support, guidance, or collaboration in the future. Don’t burn bridges by viewing life as a zero sum game. Rather than focusing your limited energy on envying the success of others, concentrate on how you can put your best foot forward and continue growing on your own end. Whenever thoughts of envy or self-doubt creep up in your mind, remind yourself that ‘life is not a zero sum game’ (meaning one person wins and the other person loses) – you are both worthy and can succeed.
Rather than envying others, look at how they have succeeded, and what you can learn from them! Such a mindset shift ties into self value too. When we value who we are, we can show up better for people in our lives. Hence, building stronger and healthier relationships.
As an actress in WondLa and Grey’s Anatomy, Jeanine’s tips are truly impactful. We hope that our Jeanine Mason interview helps you feel more valued, bringing you a Small Bit of Happiness.
Listen to Jeanine’s full episode here.
Find Jeanine here:
Instagram: itsjeaninemason
For more happiness check out our Mood Boost page.
Featuring quick videos created for teens by teens.