For every snap of ourselves we post on social media, there’s often another 10 destined for the delete button. Whether the angle is all wrong, the lighting is to blame or you’re just not feeling your look, it’s all too easy to get hung up on the aesthetics instead of sharing what was otherwise a moment worthy of documenting.

Even fitness blogger and Instagram veteran Anna Victoria has been there. On a recent holiday to Hawaii, she caught herself feeling super insecure over an unflattering family photo. But instead of getting stuck in the self-doubt trap, she took the opportunity to call on women everywhere to stop being so critical of their appearance. 

“There are just some photos we don’t share on social media,” she began the post.

“Of course, when I saw this photo I thought soaked hair, slouched over, makeup all over, I could go on. But how silly is that?”

#realstagram There are just some photos we don't share on social media…. Bad angles, bad hair day, makeup all messed up like mine is here ? I saw these pictures from our Hawaii family trip and this was when I was playing with my niece, lifting her up in the air each time (small) waves would come crashing. Of course when I saw this photo I thought ??? soaked hair, slouched over, makeup all over, I could go on. But how silly is that? ? and it got me thinking… I often see women talking about vacation pictures and they'll say something like, "I had so much fun here, but sorry I look so horrible." Wait. What? First, no one should apologize for how they do or don't look. Second, what you look like is NOT more important than the memories you created in that moment. I'm not saying you have to love a "bad" photo of yourself but don't hide away pictures of beautiful memories and beautiful moments with friends and family just because you don't like how you look. My sister told me my niece said this moment was her favorite part of the entire Hawaii trip. THAT makes this picture beautiful. Not what I look like but the smiles and the beautiful memories made in this moment. ❤️ remember truly loving yourself means loving yourself through all stages, all angles and all vacation pictures ?? #fbggirls www.annavictoria.com/guides

A post shared by Anna Victoria (@annavictoria) on Nov 14, 2017 at 5:16pm PST

“It got me thinking… I often see women talking about vacation pictures and they’ll say something like, ‘I had so much fun here, but sorry I look so horrible.’ Wait. What?”

“First, no one should apologise for how they do or don’t look. Second, what you look like is NOT more important than the memories you created in that moment.”

She continued: “I’m not saying you have to love a ‘bad’ photo of yourself, but don’t hide away pictures of beautiful memories and beautiful moments with friends and family just because you don’t like how you look.”

“My sister told me my niece said this moment was her favourite part of the entire Hawaii trip. THAT makes this picture beautiful. Not what I look like but the smiles and the beautiful memories made in this moment.”

The message has clearly struck a chord with her followers, with the post racking up nearly 25,000 likes in a matter of days.

We are our own biggest critics. And sometimes we seriously need to cool it. This is a picture from my trip to the Maldives and when I first saw it, I didn't think to myself, "look how strong I look" or "look how happy I was to be there" (despite the blue steel look on my face ?) no…I immediately dubbed it a "bad" photo because the side of my thigh looks patchy and that's all I could see. Like, that's stupid. It's stupid that we let one little "flaw" ruin our entire perspective of ourselves or of a picture. We hold ourselves to such insane, impossible standards to be so completely perfect and when we don't live up to it, we fault ourselves. We search for creams and devices and methods to fix that one little aspect of ourselves. Obsessing over "flaws" is literally a waste of time AND money. The worst part about it is someone else would never point that out on you or notice it themselves. And if they do, WHO CARES!! Someone's going to notice you're human? These "flaws" only have as much power as you give them. And if you aren't able to say, "Screw I'm fabulous ?" just yet, fake it til you make it. Instead of nitpicking the tiniest thing others would never notice, focus on what you DO love about yourself ? Positive self-talk is where it all begins and the only person who can get you there is you. #fbggirls www.annavictoria.com/guides

A post shared by Anna Victoria (@annavictoria) on Aug 10, 2017 at 9:04am PDT

But this isn’t the first-time she’s spoken about the importance of self-love. The star frequently encourages her fans to embrace their flaws and commit to “positive self-talk.”

“If you’re really going to love yourself, you have to do it through the good, the bad and the eh,” she penned.

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