We are surrounded by seemingly perfect influencers, their Instagram feeds wreaking havoc on our insecurities, and celebrities posing to reveal their stunning features for magazine covers. Is any of it real? What part of that seemingly superior reality appeals to your inner perfectionist, asking of you to stop being subpar? We all have bad days, when even the finest of makeup and power suits cannot lift our spirits, and then there are the good days when we enjoy our beauty and celebrate it in all its glory.

How do we cope with the bad and use the good to be more confident, to bring balance to our self-perception? Certain choices we make in our everyday lives can help us restore that balance and feel better in our own skin. Try introducing some of the following ideas to build your own beauty norms, let go of social stigmas and expectations, and enjoy yourself in all of your radiance as well as imperfection.

Ditch the comparison game

Since self-esteem is a matter of your mindset, it’s good to start from precisely that – your mindset. Too many of us are prone to comparing ourselves with imaginary standards posed by our modern world, and the unrealistic expectations we impose on ourselves. Do you have an army of cosmeticians, personal trainers, and nutritionists monitoring your every move and giving you optimal advice and motivation every step of the way? Most likely not, just like most of us mere mortals.

However, if you find yourself envying even your next-door neighbor or your best friend for their looks, take the time to reshape your mindset entirely. Every time you catch yourself in the comparison act, switch to appreciating something you are proud of, something that brings you joy. Elicit gratitude for your own appearance, that gleaming smile, the shiny locks, or the ringing laughter. Start building your self-love on what you do have and cherish it every day.

Pamper yourself inside and out

This fast-paced tempo of modern living makes us forget about all the little things that bring us peace and calm. The therapeutic effects of a massage, a stroll in a forest, or an entire spa weekend to help your body detox from all the stress and negativity – we rarely make time for such events in our busy schedules. While you cannot artificially add hours to your day just to make it to that acupuncture session, you can indeed strive to make more time in your everyday life for those little pampering moments.

Start your day with a cup of cleansing green tea and a meditation to fill your heart with affirmations on your beauty and wellbeing. Stick to your skincare ritual to make sure you protect yourself from all that pollution, and spend that brief time in front of the mirror basking in your own beauty. Do you admire Spanish women for their exotic, Mediterranean allure? Go to Mother Nature for your skin and haircare ingredients, such as their own favorite, olive oil. At the end of the day, treat your hair to a revitalizing olive oil mask.

Play with your looks – treat yourself

Redefining your beauty can mean many a thing. One of many perks of the modern era is that we can alter ourselves to suit our own preferences. This is what we do all the time: we cut our hair to style it to our facial features, we style our eyebrows, use nail-polish and makeup, and we use aesthetic procedures to boost our appearance. A single glance at stunning women from Australia and you learn that their confident attitude is partly owed to that very practice of self-care through self-change.

That is why you’ll see women rely on Botox in Perth and other cities in Australia to treat themselves to a convenient beautifying session that wipes away those wrinkles. Why not follow in their footsteps? If you will appreciate your own reflection and feel more confident after such a procedure, enjoy the freedom to beautify yourself in any way you see fit.

Change your inner conversation

With or without cosmetic procedures, and no matter the ever-changing beauty trends, it’s your inner voice that shapes how you perceive your appearance at any given time. More precisely, we constantly use negative self-talk to undermine our own confidence. You look at yourself and all you see are flaws, so you say to yourself: “I hate my thighs, too much cellulite. Look at my eyebags, it’s as if I haven’t slept in weeks. And my hair is too dry and brittle.”

The very next time you catch yourself criticizing your looks with no desire to be constructive, stop this thinking in its tracks. Replace it with a compliment. Let your mind meander towards a more positive, peaceful flow, so that you can begin to notice your own beauty.

Sometimes, our self-esteem depends on a variety of factors, from our innermost beliefs and thought processes, all the way to those little actions we take to foster our gratitude and self-love. Use these tips to find the right balance of both in order to love yourself and build your self-esteem, and enjoy your beauty in all of its uniqueness

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