😬 Why you cringe when you watch yourself back...

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That moment of cringe hits hard.

I get it, I’ve been there more times than I can count.

But here’s the truth: it’s not because you’re bad on camera. It's because your brain is trying to make sense of something unfamiliar.

When you speak, your voice travels through bone, it has a vibration only you can hear and sounds like "you" to "you."

When you hear it played back through a recording or device, it’s been digitized. It travels through air, and suddenly your voice sounds different and maybe just… off.

Then add the mirrored camera image, a bit of weird lighting, and the tiny lag, and your brain starts throwing flags.

It labels what it doesn’t recognize as wrong, and that’s when the self-criticism starts.

But what you’re seeing isn’t a “bad” version of you. It’s the version the rest of the world already knows, you just haven’t gotten used to yet.

The goal isn’t to fall in love with every playback but to build neutrality, that grounded, calm feeling of “this is me,” without the inner spiral.

A few things that help:

Pick one thing to observe. Your posture, pace, tone, focus on data, not judgment.
Watch short clips, ten seconds at a time.
Mute it once. Just notice your energy and body language.
Then unmute and listen for connection, not perfection.
Celebrate progress. Every playback means you showed up, and that’s where confidence starts.

That cringe you feel isn’t the problem, it's awareness.

And it's what many of us are learning to get comfortable with.

I actually recorded a video on this too, sharing what’s really happening in the brain when you hear or see yourself on playback, and how to start rewiring that response so you can actually feel proud watching yourself back.

Learning how to watch your playback with "objective criticism" vs "subjective judgement."

If you’ve ever had that “ugh” or "ick" moment hearing your own voice or watching your own video, what part hits you the hardest?

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