Shawn Mendes struggles to live up to his own expectations.
The 22-year-old singer / songwriter – who taught himself to play guitar at the age of 14 before finding viral fame on short-form video hosting service Vine at 15 – admitted he sometimes puts too much pressure on himself.
He told Wonderland magazine: “I still struggle with trying to fit into the shoes of who I believe ‘Shawn Mendes’ should be…at some point along the line, my expectations and my standard of who I should be, the music I should make, and the way I should look, became so high that no matter what I did and no matter how hard I was trying with my music, I couldn’t fit those shoes. If I even struggle to [live up to] what I think I should be, I definitely don’t want to make it harder for the 14-year-old kid in Canada to be who they are.”
Meanwhile, Shawn and his girlfriend Camila Cabello recently teamed up on a new mental wellness series, partnering with the app Calm to discuss their mental health journeys in a multi-part series called ‘Breathe Into It’.
Their new venture will also include the introduction of a free mental wellness resource hub and donations from Calm to activists, companies and young people in need of support.
Shawn praised the app as being an “integral part” of his “mindfulness routine”, which improved his life on and off the stage.
He said: “Calm is an integral part of my mindfulness routine. Meditation has really changed my life and has made me both a better performer and has helped me immensely off the stage as well. My goal is for anyone to feel empowered to embrace these tools, create their own mental wellness routines, and look out for others.”