This Is Supermodel Ashley Graham’s Go-to Practice for Building Confidence

Though it isn’t easy, this tool has helped her immensely over the years.

Ashley Graham / Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images

Ashley Graham is always fielding questions about confidence—particularly, how she builds and maintains it in the fashion industry. There is, according to the model, a “confidence issue in the world,” spanning people of all sizes. So, she understands where the questions are coming from, and she has no intention of gatekeeping her secret to building confidence.

That’s precisely why she took to Instagram on Sept. 24. In response to a question she received during Milan Fashion Week about “having confidence...as a curvy woman,” Graham explained her own position on the matter—and exactly how she has managed to build and maintain her confidence over time.

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When it comes to her philosophy, Graham kept it real. “The short answer is you have to work on your confidence,” the 2016 SI Swimsuit Issue cover star said. “It’s not something that comes overnight. It’s not a cute little pill that you get to take. It’s not about how you look because I know that when you get to like the goal that you want to be, you can still feel empty inside and not like who you are. And this is something that you have to work on all the time.”

Working on your confidence isn’t easy by any means. But there are tools that can make it more so. For Graham, the best tool is “taking control of your words,” or affirmations. She jots down messages on her mirrors, leaves sticky notes around her office and keeps phrases on her phone that are all designed to build her confidence.

But, at the end of the day, confidence-building is a constant journey. You just have to keep at it.