We are delighted to welcome Grace Lenan as a regular contributor to our WELLBEING series. A professional performer with over a decade of international experience — and now a certified Life Coach and NLP Practitioner — Grace brings a unique blend of artistry, wisdom, and mindset tools to support dancers in every stage of their journey. Her articles will explore the inner world of performers: from energy and mindset, to resilience, clarity, and personal growth. This first piece, “Whose Opinion Do You Qualify As Valuable to You?”, invites us to discern whose voices we allow into our hearts, and to stay anchored in our own truth.
Whose Opinion Do You Qualify As Valuable to You?
As performers, we are often deeply feeling beings who are sensitive to so much of the energy and subtle energies around us.
Going from our training environment and into the industry professionally, there is a significant bridge to cross in developing the skill of discernment.
Whose opinion and energy do you take into your heart?
The short answer, we qualify this for ourselves, whether we do it consciously or unconsciously.
If you’re anything like me, earlier on in my career, whether you’re training in your full time course or out in the industry working on jobs and contracts – watching like a Hawke for everyone’s subtle (or loud and clear) opinions, and absorbing every single one or *perceived* one, is a normal (and extremely draining) part of your day.
Self doubt is an incredibly universal soul lesson that we as performers are here to experience and master. Not being clear on whose opinion we actually value makes that slippery slope like a vertical drop, at the speed of light.
If we don’t consciously practice awareness of whose opinions and energy we’re absorbing day to day, and train ourselves to feel for what actually resonates with our inner being, our inner guidance system and our own Truth – then it’s like putting yourself right into the path of an arrow someone’s fired, and taking it straight to the heart.
When we could instead: assess the person firing the arrow, and whether there’s any actual resonance with them and their opinion/ perspective, with your soul and your Truth – and otherwise, let that arrow sail right on by. Observing it and easily keeping yourself out of its trajectory.
Observing it with neutrality from the dominion of your own energetic world.
I heard someone speaking recently about imagining a table with around 5-8 people sitting at it. These people, being the ones who you feel truly seen and understood by. Who know your heart, know your intentions, know your journey and know your abilities as well as your infinite potential and your dreams.
They talked about these people’s opinions and perspectives, being the ones you have qualified as valuable to you.
I personally love this practice and have found it a powerful anchor back to my own Truth and solid energetic footing.
In our work and in our industry, keeping our minds, our thoughts and our visions clear, our energy magnetic and potent and our channel for creative inspiration and story telling open – are essential.
Who are the 5-8 people whose opinions and perspectives you qualify as valuable to you? And now, let go of the rest.
Our job involves SO much receiving of notes and feedback. This is vital for the vision of whatever show/ creative team etc we’re working with to have their vision executed in the way they desire.
Feedback in general can be so powerful, illuminating and is a cornerstone of growth and mastering our skills.
As humans, we also all have blindspots and are ever learning and evolving (I love the Abraham Hicks quote “you can never get it all done” as in, so long as we are alive, we are constantly growing, learning more about ourselves, others and life, and are continually called to new desires).
They key distinction here, is what feedback and energy do you let into your heart?
Open minds, boundaried hearts.
Aka – I can observe and benefit from feedback, but I don’t make it mean anything about me, my worth, or where I’m going.
Remember, when you’re on a job, the feedback and notes are about the JOB and not about YOU.
And remember to DISCERN whose feedback and energy you actually take into your heart 
Much love xx
Grace.
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Grace has been a professional dancer and performer, internationally for over 11 years (including for Tokyo Disney, Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises, The Crazy Paris Show Macau and more).
She is a certified Life Coach & NLP Practitioner and now coaches & mentors performers on their mindset, audition energetics, manifesting their dream career, self esteem and more in her transformational coaching sessions.
Listen to Grace’s Podcast for performers ‘But First, Alignment’ on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and follow her instagram at @manifesting_with_grace for more tools and resources! https://www.
