The ultra-feelgood American with 20 million Instagram follower:ins is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. On International Women's Day, she shares her 6 tips for boosting self-esteem.
Her latest Instagram posts show that Ashley Graham embodies the body positivity movement with flying colors. She posted a nude video of herself in bed, followed by a close-up video of her round belly with the caption, "Made in the image of God."
Ashley Graham has built a strong character and spirit to face all challenges
"Your body is going to change someone's life one day" – this phrase, said by her mother at a time when she wanted to leave everything behind and her agents were telling her to lose weight, sounded like a wake-up call to Ashley Graham. After that, nothing stopped her. She walked for the biggest designers, was one of the ten highest paid models in the world. Today, with positive affirmations and lists of goals, Ashley Graham has built a strong character and a strong spirit that can face all challenges. This ultra-(body)positive philosophy also informed her talk at the Fashion Festival, where she revealed the keys to seriously improving her self-esteem as a true role model for personal development.
Ashley Graham's 6 Feelgood Tips to Accept Yourself and Overcome Any Challenge
#1: Repeat affirmations every morning
"It may sound strange, especially at first, but repeating affirmations in front of the mirror every morning can actually change your future. When I was in a down and wanted to leave it all behind, I had to change the way I talked to myself, change my language. So I created affirmations for myself, "I am bold," "I am brilliant," "I am beautiful." These three simple phrases in repetition mode actually helped me get out of the impasse I was in."
#2: Try reverse psychology
"To be in the fashion industry that didn't understand my body, I had to be strong. Because this industry is willing to manipulate and control your body if you let them. If I didn't love who I was at the time, it would have dictated it to me. I did reverse psychology and always came into a job happy, positive and grateful, which made every moment teachable. There is a simple rule: if you are nice, people will always be nice back. I've never had a bad experience being nice. No matter what world you work in, you can always get a step ahead in your life by being kind. Ultimately, the biggest lesson I've learned in life is that we all go through challenges and difficulties, but it's how we handle them that really matters."
#3: Stand up for who you are
"A follower once said to me, "You look like you're pregnant," and I said, "No, Honey, that's just fat." It's true that I have fat in my lower abdomen, but that doesn't stop me from spending half my life in a bikini. My response to that comment was mainly to show my fans, and especially young girls, that you can reciprocate. There's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to swear or be aggressive because this isn't about proving anything, it's about standing up for who you are."
#4: Take care of your body
"It's a common misconception that stronger women don't work out, don't eat healthy, and just don't take care of their bodies. Honestly, the opposite is true! I try to eat very healthy and exercise three to five times a week. Physical activity is of utmost importance to me from a mental perspective. That should be true for everyone, whether you're the skinniest girl in the world or the strongest, it's just about taking care of who you are."
#5: Make a list of your goals
"I set short-term goals: One-year, three-year and five-year goals. I haven't thought about 10 years yet because I like to follow the process and see where the future takes me. To that end, I make lists for myself. Three years ago, I had on it "Sports Illustrated" (Ashley was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 2016), "VOGUE" (Ashley modeled several times on the covers of VOGUE issues and in 2018 in a fashion series of VOGUE Paris), "Ted Talk" (Ashley hosted a TED conference in 2015), writing a book (She published her book "A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like" (HarpersCollins Publishing, 2017)] and "having a beauty contract" (in early 2018, she signed a contract with Revlon, and as she recalls, "I was one of the first plus-size models to sign a beauty contract, even though lipsticks are not a size! ). Anyway, it's important to realize what you really want and know what can happen."
#6: Work hard for what you really want.
"Work hard and do something that takes you to the next level every day and moves you one step forward in your career. Never stop. If it's something you really want to do and believe in, do it! I took every opportunity that came my way. I never said no and never gave up. I never let anyone take my jobs away from me because I felt they were meant for me. It was what I had to do".
Written by Michael Zippo
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