Ashley Graham tells herself she is "beautiful" every morning.
Ashley Graham
The 30-year-old model has admitted that reading daily affirmations has helped drastically boost her confidence levels, as she believes words are "powerful", and thinking positively has helped change her "outlook on life".
She said: "[I tell myself] I am bold, I am brilliant, I am beautiful [every morning]. I think our words have power, and if you're constantly telling yourself that you're not good enough and you're doubting your exterior on a daily basis, then that's what your life going to turn out to be. Using affirmations changed my outlook on life."
The curvaceous beauty has long been bullied about her weight, and decided to compliment herself in the mornings as a way of combatting the "snide comments" she often faces.
She added: "I had people on set, like photographers, stylists and even my own agents telling me that I was getting too big. Or they'd make snide comments like 'time to put the Snickers down.' And that is really what stuck with me and was super hurtful.
"It just hit me, like, these people are telling me that I'm fat, I've gained weight, and now my career is going to be over. What do I do? And really, I wanted to give up. I didn't know how to fix anything."
Ashley credits her mother with being the driving force that helped her keep her chin up when the hateful comments were at their worst.
Speaking to People magazine, she said: "The only person that helped me get out of that rut was my mom. She told me that I was good enough. She told me that I had to stay, that I had to figure it out. And I'm really glad she did, because a little bit of tough love is what got me through."
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