How Being An Extra In A Commercial Helped To Boost My Confidence

I was always fascinated by the film industry! I love movies, dramas and deep, meaningful stories that make me think, cry, laugh…

I naturally jumped at the opportunity when was offered to spend a day in a filming set to be part of an ad. Even though I wasn't sure what to expect… My company asked around the office if we were interested to take part. The theme was going to be Victorian East London street market.

Turns out I have a classic Victorian look -
I got chosen by the casting team

It was a fun day! I was given this awesome Victorian outfit for a working-class woman that walks through the market. My makeup was done to look scruffy. I looked like someone hadn't had a bath for a while…

The script was very simple, we had to walk down the street… I honestly think we repeated the process at least 50 times.

And guess what! I made it into the main ad!!!

You could see my figure for about 0.0001 second. It was such an incredible experience, I felt over the moon for ages, gave me such confidence boost.

I wanted to share this story with you because like everyone else I sometimes suffer low self-confidence in various areas of my life

To understand what can cause it, I listed a few reasons - I call them

The Confidence Crashers

Being bullied as a child
Too strict upbringing
Criticism from others in adult life
Feeling different/standing out
Feeling left out
Failure
Being let down by loved ones
Fears
Traumas
'Wrong' Mindset

I had pretty much experienced all of them and the harsh reality is that we can't avoid most of these during our lifetime. Personally, I always felt the need to step out of soul crashing situations though, I never felt comfortable being uncomfortable. So making small improvements to overcome negative feelings is the road for me.

I would like to share the
**Top 4 Confidence building** exercises I trusted and tried myself

Positive thinking

I aim to look for the silver lining in every situation, always worked for me.

Let's say I apply for a job but I don't get it; I tell myself I did not get it because there was something better for me. By doing that I turn my feelings of failure into a positive one.

Practice uncomfortable situations

As an example: public speaking is nerve wrecking, no matter how you test yourself in front of a mirror or with a friend. The feeling of uncomfortableness will only fade away if you put yourself out there and do it as many times as you can.

I was only 18 when I took on a summer job in our local cinema to be a cashier for a couple of months - I can't tell you how embarrassed I was for days and days, my cheeks were burning like sunburn… but eventually I got used to being in a fishbowl in front of customers and I got more relaxed.

Learning

Learn something new, how to play the piano, start a photography course, learn a new language - even just to be able to order drinks during your next holiday.

By learning we naturally build a confidence in ourselves especially if we put our newly learnt skills into practice.

When we got our puppy, I started reading books about how to take care of Luna, our German Shepherd. How to housetrain, how to teach boundaries, what are the needs of a working dog.

From not knowing much about dogs I built up this knowledge where I feel more confident even advising other puppy owners in our local park during walks and I will do in my future blogs.

Surrounding yourself with positive people

Nothing is more soul crashing than when you get negativity and criticism from others which often a result of their own low self-esteem or unhappy thoughts.

I only have a few close friends, but they are all friendly, encouraging and supporting me when I need it.

Everybody has a work colleague that uses the classic: 'You look tired.' line. Cut them out, we don't need negative, mean critics in our lives. We need kind souls that ask us if we want a cup of coffee when they see we are not being ourselves.