Meet Melissa Divanna

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melissa Divanna a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

My confidence and self-esteem was something that took a long time to acquire. Growing up I suffered from debilitating body dysmorphia that ultimately crumbled my self image.

I always struggled immensely with my appearance. I remember at the age of 5 thinking I was so hideous that I would not leave the house without a scarf wrapped around my face. As time progressed these feels of self loathing only intensified.

Luckily, after years and years of intensive treatment and hard work, I have over come a lot of my battles pertaining to body dysmorphia. I still struggle from time to time but not nearly in the same capacity as before.

An important aspect of my recovery centered around revisiting past traumas that led to those devastating thoughts about myself. I also engaged in intensive cognitive therapy that taught me to evaluate myself under non judgmental terms. Aside from the clinical aspects of my treatment, music also played a huge role in my over all healing.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am a singer/songwriter on a mission to give back that pop anthems that saved my life.

As I said before, I grew up with debilitating Body Dysmorphia, and can credited a lot of my healing to music. During my toughest times I would blast dance driven tracks sung by iconic females like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and The Pussycat Dolls. These songs helped me escape to a place where I could embody the sexy, confident, fearless woman I longed to be.

I think what makes art so special is that people can see the effects of hard self work pay off. My journey captures a full circle moment. I will always continue to evolve and grow, but I have come a long way, and I hope it is inspiring for others to see that.

I also constantly challenge myself and refuse to stay stagnate. My latest project has actually been the most challenging yet I decided to try and make a music video all alone in my garage. I taught myself various editing programs and have really expanded my knowledge on film making. I am so excited for everyone to see the results so stay tuned for that!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Three areas of knowledge that impacted my journey in a significant way was handling perfectionism, criticism, and self doubt.

Most artists are cursed with perfectionism. This is still something I struggle with, but am learning to cope. As artists want our art to be the absolute best it can be, but it is important to know that trying to achieve that cannot come at the expense of your mental health. Sometimes you miss out on opportunities while driving yourself crazy over trying to make something perfect.

As far as criticism, it’s important to realize that everyone has their own opinions. Not everyone will like what you do. I wasted so much time focusing on those that had negative things to say about my work. Instead it’s crucial to appreciate and focus on those that really love what you do and get something out of it.

My self doubt has tried to talk me out of pursuing this dream more times then I can count. In my opinion, many times we are our own worst enemy. It’s important to ground yourself and keep your purpose at the forefront of your mind at all times. That way it is harder for self doubt and negative thoughts to creep up.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

My mother and grandmother have been the most helpful with helping me overcome challenges life has presented me with. No matter what they have always stood by my side and let me know that I am strong and capable of conquering anything.

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