It's a beautiful experience to grow as a singer.

You hear your voice becoming stronger, richer, freer. You sing songs that you couldn't do justice to before. You hear high notes coming out more smoothly.

You sing in places you didn't have the courage to before, and you get more compliments from people, which gives you a real buzz.

You feel like A Singer, rather than just ‘someone who likes to sing’.

This kind of journey of transformation is possible for huge numbers of singers. And it's down to two things:  The right techniques;  and the right mindset.

After years of exploring both of these areas in depth, I've discovered a particular mental exercise (which anyone can do) that's surprisingly good at sparking your growth as a singer.

It's a bit controversial.

It's edgy.

Not everyone agrees with me about this.

But I find it works.

And plenty of my students who've tried it found that it unlocked huge progress for them.

So what is it?

Well, we all know that role models in any field of endeavour tend to inspire younger or less successful  players to follow in their footsteps and take action to achieve similar things.

Right?

So we're going to use that principle but tweak it.

Are there any singers that inspire you and make you want to reach for your dreams? I bet there are. All good.

But… and here we get into the nitty gritty….

Are there any singers who you are quite jealous of?

 Come on, have a think.

 Rack your brains.

 I’m waiting…

......

 Okay, you got it?

 Yep, that person. Well done.

So think about it. Who is this person? What kind of singing do they do? What kind of following or community of admirers do they have?

Do you know them personally? I bet you do.

Now, the way my theory goes, is this. The singers we're most jealous of are the ones whose achievements are only a little bit ahead of our own.

The gap between ourselves as a singer and this person's popularity and singing activities in the world isn't really very big.

That’s why it makes us so insanely envious - because it's achievable for us.

That gap is one WE CAN bridge if we believe in ourselves and make the effort. If we use their achievements, to expand our vision for ourselves.

So what do you think? Does this idea ring bells with you?

As imaginary examples…

 If you're a singer-songwriter, that person you're jealous of might be Leya Tamara, the girl from your hometown  who just released her third album, and is going on tour next summer.

Or if you're a hobby singer, that person might be Bill Chambers, the one who sings tenor  in your community choir and who people look to  for a strong voice they can follow.

Or it might be something else. You get the gist.

So, try this as an exercise:

Identify that real singer in your life who you’re jealous of.

Silently thank them and appreciate them, for achieving what they have done with their singing. Appreciate the goodness they bring to others because of it.

Outline what they've got that you haven't (yet)… and decide if that's what you actually want.

 Remind yourself that they haven't always been that good or successful. They had a journey to get there too.

 Thank them for modelling your next set of goals.

 Imagine them encouraging you to follow in their footsteps. Imagine them laying out a yellow brick road for you to follow.

Imagine them saying  to you ‘Well done for seeing what you want to achieve.  You can do this.’

 I, Selena, tell you:  You can do this.

 Say to yourself,’ I can do this’.

… and go for it!

 You'll unlock so much energy by transforming that jealousy into your guiding light.

 It gives you clarity, and a roadmap, and fuel for the journey.

So have fun. Feel the spark. Grow as a singer. Be an inspiration to us all. Make someone else jealous!

Let me know in the comments what you think of this exercise.

And if you want any personal support when it comes to vocal technique, mindset, confidence or goal setting for your singing; feel free to come and see me for a low price initial Lift -Off Session. I'd love to help.