Meet Hannah Chapplain

We recently connected with Hannah Chapplain and have shared our conversation below.

Hannah, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter Syndrome has been one of those, “God that was awful, but I’m happy it happened” experiences in my life.
To say I have completely overcome it would be dishonest, but I have been able to identify it and subdue it over time, with a lot of effort and perspective. One of the driving factors in the moments I have successfully overcome imposter syndrome has been to use one of my own crippling roadblocks against myself – fear. I truly believe that something so powerful as fear can be redirected to propel a person further than they would anticipate.
I recall the last two times that I’ve been in Nashville to songwrite; the first trip down, my imposter syndrome was in full force, and I was near petrified to go into my first cowriting session. I had the shakes, I froze up, I was nauseous, and felt like I completely didn’t belong there. The result of this was that the session did not go the way I had hoped for myself, which only really assured any imposter syndrome I was sitting with. I had wholeheartedly embraced the implications of the negative feelings that swarmed afterwards because the reality was that, I was used to those feelings. At least if I felt them, I could tell myself that I was right all along and that I didn’t belong in the industry. I was used to psyching myself out, at ostracising myself. It was far more comfortable to live in that pre-programmed mentality than to challenge it.
Fast-forward a year and a half, and I was preparing for my second trip down South for more songwriting and networking. At this point, between the two trips, I had given birth to my second child and had spent the last year running off of nearly no sleep and the chaos of having two children under two. I was desperate to find my identity again, my music and art, and I knew that I needed to make that second trip fulfilling. I knew I was going to feel the imposter syndrome as soon as I stepped in the studio, as soon as I began shaking hands, as soon as I began to write. I knew I needed to find something powerful to drive me past these feelings…and one of the most powerful feelings in my life has been fear. So I started to envision a life where I gave up on music. A life where I said goodbye to the dream, where I would never get to experience writing with other people or having a song placed on television or radio. I imagined what it would look like if I allowed the imposter syndrome to continue taking force and becoming reality.
Once I began exploring that thought, I found that the fear of losing this part of my life likely did outweigh the fear of not belonging in it. So, I decided at that point, that I needed to equip myself with the tools needed to aid each one of the physical reactions I would get to imposter syndrome while I was in Nashville. That meaning, got the shakes? Drink tea, sit in the bathroom and practice breathing exercises, make sure to be well rested. Nausea? Carry mints or ginger chews. Invasive thoughts, or scattered thoughts? Take a bathroom break again, breathe, remember what fears are worse than “fitting in” or “belonging there”. I basically swarmed myself with tools that I could use in the moment to remove myself from any situation and add perspective to it.
Perspective has been big for me, and a major thought that has carried me through the still ongoing battle with imposter syndrome is that, from what we know, we have one life here. At the end of my days, do I want to look back with the regret of not having given my absolute best? Of missing my shot because of myself?
I’d be more likely to feel ashamed of not trying than ashamed of trying and it not having worked, because usually when something doesn’t work, that means something better is not far off.
I recognise that this approach may not work for everyone, but I can say that it worked for me, especially that second trip to Nashville. The truth is, chances are you do deserve to be there and you do deserve to shoot your shot, just as much as anyone else. I believe that women, people of colour, and folks in the LGBTQIA+ community are specifically bombarded with obstacles that make imposter syndrome more present. But, that gives us all the more reason to overcome these falsehoods, stand in our deserved place, and diminish the inequality that pre-programs our way of thinking.
All in all…turn fear into motivation and watch the power within yourself grow to its’ full potential.

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?

I am an alternative artist and songwriter, and my artist name is ‘shethearcher’. I grew up in a musically eclectic household. We were Baptist, so I grew up with gospel music, some contemporary Christian music…but, also a large array of other genres including motown, folk, rock and country music. I began singing lessons around age 6, and my dad was my biggest musical inspiration – he also sang and wrote music and is incredibly talented. He taught me how to put personality into my voice and create something unique from it.
I’ve been songwriting since I was 13, and began my performing career at 15 years old playing weekly in bars and restaurants in Southern Ontario, Canada.
Much like my life outside of music, I struggled to find my own “place” in the industry and in my style/genre. At that point in time, you really needed to fall into a genre so that people could label you.
I’ve never been one for labels, so I wasn’t always received well by industry folks. I was always “too this, too that” for a genre, or “too ahead of my time”.
This caused me to wander, a lot. I explored genres, trying to find the right fit. I decided to take some time and work behind the scenes, as a personal assistant, at a couple different industry companies. I loved it, but I missed art too much. I missed performing.
After those stints, I really directed my energy into social media, uploading videos of cover songs done my own way. This seemed to resonate with some people, and since I had so much experience playing cover gigs at bars, it came naturally to me.
Settling into the idea that I could be myself, as shethearcher, the eclectic, contemporary, free-spirited artist – was truly liberating and allowed me to explore songwriting at depths I previously hadn’t.
Fast-forward a little further, and I began to experiment with working with some industry folks again. I was contacted by someone in Nashville, Trey Bruce, who has spent the last four years doing artist development with me and fine-tuning my songwriting. So lately, I’ve been able to live in my own little genre-less haven, blending folk, alt country, rock and pop. I write songs for Film/TV sync, and am hoping to write something that another artist would like to sing. I’ll be releasing a new song very soon, but I can’t say too much about that, yet…
But, what I can say is that the song is definitely one you’ll want to blast in your car!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Perspective, bravery and self-awareness!

Perspective…This has been the most grounding skill in my life, in all areas. I say skill because gaining or acknowledging perspective is not something that comes naturally. It’s something we must remind ourselves of. I would say that one of the ways in which I practice the skill of perspective is taking the time to slow down and explore every angle and avenue possible, with no judgement or bias. It’s hard. But, if you are in a situation where you can take that extra time to literally “sleep on something” or eat lunch over it, that is one of the biggest blessings you can have in a situation. So taking that time to gain perspective, to accept perspective, is fantastic.
Bravery is a valuable skill to have, but is one of the hardest to garner up for a lot of people, I think. I feel like bravery takes practice, open mindedness, and strong desire. It’s almost like you have to condition yourself to constantly push out of your own comfort zone. I had to learn, and still practice, bravery in the form of speaking up for myself when I don’t agree with something or am afraid of being shut down. It’s been a fantastic skill and quality to challenge myself with, because there can be huge reward in taking the risk or standing up for your own!
And lastly, self awareness, I believe, is one of the greatest qualities someone can obtain or practice, in and out of passions and work. I see the usefulness of self awareness to be almost like a weather network – lacking self awareness is like not knowing that a hurricane is on the horizon, leaving you unprepared and in a state of reaction and scrambling. If you have that weather network, that self awareness, you can be prepared for any disaster (challenge) that comes your way, hopefully minimising the damage that it brings. Self awareness protects you before the disaster, but also assists you in putting your best self forward. It helps you in social situations, it helps you in knowing your own needs and wants, and it helps you in business in the ways of branding, what deals and gigs you accept, and what direction is the best fit for you.
Best of all, it keeps you humble!
My journey in self awareness started with a book called “Awareness” by Anthony de Mello, but I would have to say that the biggest help in harbouring that skill for me was therapy and mindfulness practices!

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am always interested in collaborating or partnering up with people! I love songwriting with folks and working on creative projects, so if someone’s looking for a feature artist or someone to write with, I’m always up for chatting. I’m also willing to do work with photographers and videographers in relation to music projects. New opportunities are always in my lane! If you’re interested in collaborating, feel free to reach out over email. You can find me at: shethearcher@gmail.com

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shethearcherofficial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shethearcher/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@shethearcher8175
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shethearcher
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@shethearcherofficial

Image Credits

First 3 photos are taken by True Nature Media, the two remaining are taken by Amber Chapplain