In a sea of image-crazed celebrities, Kristen Bell is a refreshing breath of realness. She has a clear-eyed perspective on mental health, gets her perfume from Whole Foods, and is the definition of #relationshipgoals with also-funny actor Dax Shepard.

The actress is also incredibly wise—and someone you’d want in your circle of friends for life advice. Case in point? In a recent Create and Cultivate interview, Bell spilled some real-talk on aging in Hollywood and seriously game-changing confidence tips that anyone can apply to their own careers in order to be successful.

“There is a lot of excess noise that comes with allowing everyone to have a say in your self-worth.”

“I think there are professional challenges that come with age, but I also believe thoughts control your language and your language controls your life,” says Bell. “Negative thoughts attract and self-fulfill a negative outcome, so I do my best to reframe the picture and not allow future limitations to become my present ones.” So basically your mindset is key for how you act, which affects every aspect of your life (notice how when you’re down in the dumps, things seem to always go wrong?).

A natural people-pleaser, the star also had to figure out how to stop putting too much power in others’ expectations. “I reached a point where I learned, out of necessity, to divorce my need to please from my career,” she says. “It was the only way to survive the rejection and ultimately it was the key to success. There is a lot of excess noise that comes with allowing everyone to have a say in your self-worth. Once you shed that, you instantly become (ironically) a more likable version of yourself.”

But the most important advice to keep in mind? Messing up is totally okay and normal.

“It’s impossible to complete life’s balancing act with a perfect record,” says Bell.  “You are bound to wobble or misstep or even fall. It’s just part of the game. But dwelling in temporary defeat is what causes more permanent ones. So, it’s very important to be kind to yourself, shake it off and move forward.” Well said.

Here’s another (surprising) way to get ahead at your job. And this is how to give your career a major boost, according to your astrological sign.