We – women especially – are our own worst critics, and social media has made it easier than ever to compare ourselves to others. This has become such an issue, that it has been reported many times that people who spend more time on social media are less happy than others, thanks to this comparison habit. Unfortunately, the people we are the hardest on is usually ourselves.

This ugly truth was recently highlighted by fitness Instagrammer and YouTuber Louise Aubery, who goes by @mybetter_self. Recently, the University of California student shared an image of herself to her Instagram page to perfectly pinpoint how harsh women can be on themselves. Take a look:

 

I am guilty. I am here to always be completely honest, because I feel social medias need more of it. | As much as I preach self love and truly made some progress accepting myself, there is something I really struggle with : pictures. . . Whenever I see a picture of me, the first things which catches my eyes are my FLAWS. I always see what is wrong. “Too close”. “My nose appears too big.” “My legs look too white”. “I look terrible” This is usually what follows when someone show me a picture they took of me. . . YET, I really do not look at people’s flaws first when I look at a picture of someone else ! On the contrary, I tend to focus on their assets. . . So why not do the same with yourself ? We really need to learn not to be so harsh on ourselves. It is not healthy. I am going to work on it, and I hope you will too. _____________________________________ Je plaide coupable. Vous savez que l’honnêteté est une valeur que je chérie; et je trouve que ca manque sur les réseaux sociaux. | Malgré que je prêche l’acceptance et l’amour de soi et que j’ai fait de réels progrès sur le sujet, il y a quelque chose avec lequel j’ai toujours beaucoup de mal : les photos. . . A chaque fois que je vois une photo de moi, tout ce que je vois en premier sont mes défauts. Je vois toujours ce qui ne va PAS. “Trop proche” “Mon nez paraît trop gros” “J’ai l’air trop blanche” “Supprime” : ce sont généralement mes premières réactions après avoir vu une photo de moi. . . Pourtant, ce n’est pas du tout comme ça que je réagis quand je vois une photo de quelqu’un d’autre ! Au contraire, j’ai plutôt tendance à voir leurs atouts . . Alors pourquoi ne l’applique-t-on pas à nous-même ? On doit vraiment apprendre à ne pas être aussi dur envers soi-même. Ce n’est pas sain. Je vais travailler dessus, et j’espère que vous aussi.

A post shared by Louise| PARIS |Thinker & Maker (@mybetter_self) on

Louise Aubery said:

“Whenever I see a picture of me, the first things which catches my eyes are my FLAWS. I always see what is wrong. ‘Too close.’ ‘My nose appears too big.’ ‘My legs look too white.’ ‘I look terrible.’ This is usually what follows when someone show me a picture they took of me… YET, I really do not look at people’s flaws first when I look at a picture of someone else! On the contrary, I tend to focus on their assets… So why not do the same with yourself? We really need to learn not to be so harsh on ourselves. It is not healthy.”

Many of those things are ‘flaws’ that no one else would notice, yet women have a habit of zeroing in and focusing on their deepest insecurities. In contrast, Louise Aubery makes sure to highlight many positive qualities such as enjoying herself at the beach, having a great smile and a “strong butt.” She shows just how insane the judgment we place on ourselves is, when we are criticizing our photos as either “good” or “bad” based on how we think we look.

Hopefully, Louise Aubery’s post makes you think the next time you’re scrutinizing your own photos.

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Featured image via Instagram

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