Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sanne Vander. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sanne, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
When it comes to being confident I always say I use the quote ‘fake it till you make it’. For some people this has such a negative connotation, but for me it’s a form of empowerment. We all have off days, we all experience situations in which we feel insecure, but the key is to remain confident, even if that confidence doesn’t feel completely natural yet.
I’m a huge believer in manifestation, so much so that I even have it tattooed on my body, and I think manifesting can improve your self-esteem tremendously. Essentially, manifestation is bringing something tangible into your life through attraction and belief. In other words: if you can think it, you can receive it. This may sound a little odd to some people, but it’s actually backed by science. Everything in the universe is made up of particles. All particles are in a constant state of movement. Even ‘dead objects’ like a stone are actually particles that are moving at a very high vibration that can not be perceived through the naked eye. This vibration or movement of particles is what we call energy. When energies with the same vibrations align, they are attracted to each other. In other words: like attracts like. When it comes to manifestation this means that if you bring positive energy into the world, you will receive positive energy.
If you want to focus on improving your self-esteem, you will not get there by repeating the same limiting beliefs to yourself. You have to make an effort to be kind to yourself. However, this is definitely easier said than done. Everything you know about your present self is based on your experiences of the past. When you’ve been told over and over again that you’re not worthy or not beautiful, it can have a drastic impact on your self-worth. When you then repeat those same words to yourself every time you look into the mirror, all you’re doing is just attracting more negative energy into your life. That’s why I think it’s important to get rid of those limiting beliefs by using manifestation techniques, especially positive affirmations and visualization.
When it comes to positive affirmations for self-worth it’s all about getting rid of the negative narrative that we all have in our heads from time to time. Instead of telling yourself you’re ugly when you look at your reflection, you can start writing down all the things that make you feel good about yourself, all the things you consider to be beautiful. I recommend repeating these out loud in front of the mirror and even if you don’t necessarily feel beautiful yet, if you keep repeating positive messages to yourself, you will start believing them eventually. Then, as a second challenge, add things to this list that you don’t necessarily consider to be beautiful. If you’re insecure about the size of your thighs, tell yourself that you love your thighs the way they are. Again, repeat this time after time until you eventually find peace with yourself.
Visualization is another important tool that can be used to improve confidence. Before an important event that you are nervous about, perhaps before a date, visualize yourself in this specific situation being the most confident and powerful version of yourself. This will definitely boost your self-esteem.
In my own life, there have been so many times I felt really insecure about myself and doubted my self-worth. I started my career as a model and I think it’s no secret that the modeling industry isn’t a very gently one. Going from casting to casting I obviously had to deal with a lot of rejection and this was definitely very hard on me. However, I always tried to remain kind to myself and focused on staying as positive as possible. Still to this day, I have my struggles. Especially in the love department. For the longest time, I felt like I needed the validation of others to make me whole. However, I’m at a point in my life in which I value the power of self-love more and more and even though I still struggle with my confidence from time to time, by using the manifestation techniques I mentioned previously I always manage to overcome my struggles eventually. Having said that, it’s completely fine to feel down sometimes. It’s impossible to be positive and confident 100% of the time, so if you have an off day, just know it’s not the end of the world. Sometimes we just feel awful, but there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Life goes on, this feeling will pass. If you feel really bad about yourself and none of the things I mentioned are working, there’s always a tomorrow, there’s always an opportunity to try again. In my opinion, confidence is a journey, not a destination.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Sanne Vander. I’m 27-years-old and create lifestyle content on social media. On my YouTube and TikTok I post skincare videos, travel vlogs, workouts and I make ‘Self love with Sanne’ videos in which I talk about confidence, self-worth and the struggles of being in your twenties. On Instagram I share the behind the scenes of my life, usually somewhere on a beach or in an airplane.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
As a content creator I think the 3 most important qualities you can have is to be genuine, positive and hard-working. Sometimes people don’t realize how much effort goes into creating content and how thick your skin needs to be to keep going even if you get criticism or your views are low and you feel like nobody is watching. My advice to people who are just starting out in the social media field is to have as much fun with it as possible. Let your creative juices flow and don’t let anything (or anybody) take this fun away from you. If you don’t see results immediately, don’t give up. All of the big social media stars you’re probably looking up to started somewhere, usually in their bedroom and also had videos that didn’t go well and photos that got 0 likes. It’s all part of the journey. In Dutch there’s a nice saying ‘De aanhouder wint’ which literally translates to ‘The one who keeps going wins’, but can also be explained as ‘Persistence pays off’. Whatever you do, if you want to become successful, don’t give up!
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I would consider myself to be a very emotional and sensitive person, so I tend to get overwhelmed pretty easily. However, there’s one specific mantra that always helps me get over whatever anxious feeling or thought I have and it’s: “As I surrender to the present moment, I let calmness wash over me and take all my worries away”.
A very special person in my life, who I’m currently not in contact with anymore once told me that I have the most calm vibe about me that they have ever seen and even though I don’t always feel calm, I was happy that this person told me that. Apparently to them I radiated a calm energy. Since this person meant a lot to me, I then decided I wanted to embrace this calmness more and ever since I came up with the mantra and have been using it every time I feel like life gets too much. It has definitely helped me already so many times. It’s very simple, but being aware of your ability to surrender to the present moment and change your current attitude feels very powerful.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanne_vander/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sannevander
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sanne_vander
