What Timothée Chalamet’s SAG Awards Speech Can Teach Us About Self Confidence

It’s easy to minimize our accomplishments and question if we really deserve them. Even if we are proud of ourselves, it’s expected that we minimize our hard work in order to be polite. Here’s what we can learn from Timothee Chalamet’s SAG Awards acceptance speech.

SAG and Self Confidence

Timothée Chalamet won Best Actor in a Leading Role at the SAG awards for his role as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” and his acceptance speech garnered quite a bit of attention. Watch it here!

Many people have analyzed his speech online, and VOGUE Magazine even published an opinion piece about it. While some found it to be pretentious, others praised him for confidently announcing his goals. Here’s what we can learn from Chalamet about self confidence and seeking success.

Setting Goals and Learning from “The Greats”

In his acceptance speech, Chalamet discussed wanting to be one of the “greats.” He stayed humble by recognizing he is not where he wants to be yet, and he even acknowledged actors and actresses he looks up to like Marlon Brando, Daniel Day Lewis and Viola Davis. Although it’s important to be confident in yourself, it’s just as important to recognize those who came before you and see how they got there.

If you also want to be intentional about your future plans, create a vision board featuring people that inspire you and aspirations you hope to achieve. It’s okay to be bold with your goals! Even if it seems unrealistic, there’s no harm in setting the bar high.

Acknowledging Your Achievements

Acknowledging the amount of time and effort you put into a goal can help overcome imposter syndrome. Chalamet refused to downplay how much work he put in and emphasized that he spent five years preparing for his role as Bob Dylan.

Whether a goal is personal or professional, try tracking the way you put in effort. For a difficult class, mark down how much time you spend studying. For an internship, keep a portfolio or a written reflection of everything you’ve done (this could be a really good way to remember things to talk about in future interviews). Trying to hit the gym more? Write down the workouts you’ve done in a cute journal. How can you deny yourself the feeling of being worthy of an accomplishment if you have proof of your hard work?

When it comes to talking about the things you have accomplished, It’s appropriate to appreciate how much work you’ve put in when you reach a goal or hit a milestone. Even in casual conversations, if someone appreciates one of your achievements, don’t downplay your success. Thank them and talk about how you are super excited about it. Obviously don’t brag, but coming off as confident makes people take you seriously.

Ilona Maher on Imposter Syndrome

If you don’t experience imposter syndrome, own it. Recently, Ilona Maher, an Olympian and “Dancing With the Stars” alum, did an interview with CNN. She was asked how she handles imposter syndrome, and she confidently said, “I don’t have that.” Maher also talked about how it’s almost expected that people have imposter syndrome, but she said,

It’s okay to be proud of what you’ve done. – Ilona Maher

If you don’t struggle with imposter syndrome, that doesn’t mean you’re over-confident. It’s ingrained in us, especially women, that we need to downplay our hard work or our accomplishments.

Chalamet’s acceptance speech and Maher’s interview remind us that taking pride in ourselves and our achievements isn’t pretentious. We should always strive to be the best version of ourselves.

What are some accomplishments you’re proud of? Let us know @VALLEYmag on X!