Seven Times Leena Normington Told It Like It Is

Leena is somebody who has no qualms telling it like it is.

Whether she’s getting open and honest about her own experiences or talking about the kinds of self-doubt we all experience from time to time, Leena Normington never fails to say what she thinks in a productive and helpful way. We love her approach to things, which is why we decided it was time to dedicate an entire article to her and her videos.

Here they are, the seven best times Leena told it like it is!

The Truth About Being Single.

Leena gets personal and tells us all about being single for two years after being in serious relationships from the age of 18. Do your career and friends compensate? Are you lonely being in London? Is being single dependent on having good people around you? Leena dives deep into her experiences of being single and her thoughts about not having a significant other in your life. Her thoughts on how to find the people you need, whilst pulling down the idea that relationships and careers can’t exist in tandem makes this a must watch, “If you want to date me, you have to be more interesting than me.”

How do you deal with all your friends being in relationships? Relationships are not brilliant all the time and Leena acknowledges the fact that we often idealise others’ relationships and the importance of being open with friends about single life. This introspective analysis of single life is a brilliant watch.

The Truth About NOT Being Single

Fast forward a year and a half, as Hannah Witton joins Leena for a discussion about not being single. The pair met people at the same time, and this casual chat about the transition from being single to in a relationship is equal parts informative as it is comforting. Leena discusses her identity and branding being tied heavily to being single and the fear of losing that, while Hannah feels her partner has helped her relax more and not have to constantly seek happiness from external sources.

Hannah discusses keeping her behaviours from being single and using them with her friends, rather than for herself. The pair emphasise the importance of them being in relationships that don’t change the way they behave or feel as people. They both don’t overlook the importance of the time they spent single in being ready for commitment – Leena feels the knowledge she can be happy single gives her a healthier relationship. Overall, it’s a very healthy look at life both single and in a relationship.

How to beat your imposter syndrome…

Imposter Syndrome is something we’ve all experienced. A cut down version of the workshops she’s held at various events across the country, providing resources to help you identify when you’re experiencing imposter syndrome, Leena presents her childhood belief in predestination and how that’s led to her experiences of Imposter Syndrome. She makes it crystal clear that you cannot be objective about your own worth.

The importance of seeking outside validation whilst managing dependency on it and preventing that dependency from taking over is a heavy focus of the video, and the idea that humans can be creative without “productivity” being the focus is a take home message we can all benefit from. A lot of us have experienced creativity scars and learning to manage this properly can only be good for us.

Is your dream career too competitive?

Imposter Syndrome is no less important in your competitive industry of choice. Focusing on the world of publishing, but applicable to any of us seeking a career in a competitive field, this discussion about how some competitive industries are more encouraged than others certainly hits home. Leena’s open discussion about her time in the hiring process should give you hope that opportunities are there, regardless of what you want to pursue.

The advice to look for the smaller publishers is brilliant advice for anybody looking to work in publishing.

YouTube Is Dead | A Slam Poem

“YouTube is dead becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

This slam poem is a simple and forward analysis of how easy it is to get stuck in your ways on such a broad and diverse platform as YouTube. It also looks at how innovative and amazing new creators on the platform are. We can’t even begin to explain how much we love this one.

Not Like Other Girls

“I’ve got some very, very good news for you. I’m exactly like the other girls.”

Succinctly and effectively pulling apart the “not like other girls” phenomenon, the typecasting of other girls that leads to internalised misogyny and measuring your self worth in terms of being different than other girls. Most women experienced this on some level as they were growing up, and the realisation that all women are complex individuals is an important thing to learn.

THE STREETS ARE OURS

During Anti-Street Harassment Week in 2014, Leena joined the conversation, discussing the everyday experiences of women from a very young age and the impact these experiences have on people in the long term. To help further the discussion and help improve overall street behaviour in the UK, she uploaded a few other videos, which we highly recommend you check out.

So there you have it…

Seven times Leena told it like it is. There are so many more videos we could have discussed, so look out for another article in the future! Are there any videos you think we missed? Be sure to send us a tweet to @TenEightyUK and let us know!

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