Feeling comfortable in your own skin isn’t about what you look like.

It’s about loving who you are.

With social media selfies of seemingly perfect people, it’s hard not to compare yourself to what looks like a picture of perfection.

Not to mention the fact that with technology, digital photographers can actually create the perfect person. By photoshopping extra weight or blemishes right off the models you see on magazine covers, you can bet that most looks are very deceiving.  

Is it any wonder that so many people struggle to feel comfortable in their own skin?

I have to admit that even I’ve struggled with this in the past.

But the more I change my focus, the more I have gained an appreciation for who I am and all the good I can do by just being me.

There’s a lot of good you can do—just by being you.

And while it’s true that you can help others without actually loving yourself, feeling comfortable in your own skin will help you love others better.

You will also have the capacity to experience so much more joy in your service when you are at peace with who you are.

There are many ways you can learn to feel comfortable in your own skin.

Here are four ways that have worked for me.

Focus on your strengths.

Too many times we focus way too much on our weaknesses.

After all, it’s easy to see our weaknesses—we all have them, and they tend to stick out.

But for every weakness, we have so many strengths. They are there waiting for us to discover them.

Maybe your strength is kindness. Perhaps you are a really great listener. Maybe you’ve had a unique experience that qualifies you to provide wisdom and strength to others.

It is true that what you look for, you will find.

Start looking for your strengths and you will find them.

On the flip side, if you continue to look for your weaknesses and make them center stage in your life, you will continue a negative thought cycle that will be difficult to overcome.

By seeking out your strengths and keeping them as your focus, you will eventually train yourself to see the good, always.

And once you start seeing the good in yourself, you can’t help but see it in those around you.

Once you start focusing on your strengths, you will see just how amazing you truly are and how easy it is to be comfortable in your own skin.

Practice Self-Care.

Many of us are really good about caring for others. But we are terrible at taking care of ourselves.

It’s difficult to feel comfortable in your own skin when you are not giving your body, mind, and spirit the nourishment and care that it needs.

Take a bubble bath, read your favorite book, get a massage, spend the afternoon with a friend. Make the time to do whatever it is that brings you joy.

When you are in a place of joy, everything else is better in life.

Not only will self-care help you to feel rejuvenated and more capable of facing life’s challenges, but it is also the best way for you to practice self-love.

Regular self-care is how you show love to yourself.

And once you start feeling love for yourself, it’s so much easier to feel comfortable in your own skin.

Change your mindset.

I have found that one of the greatest tools we have for change is our own mindset.

If we remain in a mindset of negative self-talk and animosity towards ourselves, it is detrimental to our own health and well-being.

It’s impossible to feel comfortable in your own skin when your mindset is already against you.

If you want to love yourself, start saying that you do!

What you choose to think and say will be one of the greatest determiners of the person you become.

Your thoughts are powerful.

When you choose to direct your thoughts towards a more positive way of thinking, you will be surprised at the outcome.

Not only will you find that people want to be around you more often, but you will find that you like yourself better too!

If you want to feel comfortable in your own skin, your mindset will be your greatest ally in accomplishing it.

Stop listening to the nay-sayers.

No matter who you are, there is going to be someone who doesn’t like the way you do things. It’s an inevitable part of life.

Why? Because everyone is different and we’re not going to all do things the same way.

That’s one of the greatest things about the world that we live in. We are each unique. The world would be a very boring place if we all did things the exact same way.

Embrace your uniqueness while also respecting the individuality of others.  

Stop listening to the people who tell you that you’re not enough—not good enough or beautiful enough or strong enough or rich enough.

What other people say about you doesn’t matter. They are not you and you are not them.

Remember that the only opinion about you that matters is your own.

If you struggle with your own opinion of yourself, stop being one of the nay-sayers in your own life.

Do the work necessary to see yourself as the incredible human you are.

If you want to feel comfortable in your own skin, the best way to go about doing that is to simply be the extraordinary UnOrdinary you.

There is no one else like you in the world.

And that’s truly something to celebrate.