Tina Turner has lived one hell of a life. 

The singer’s recording career has spanned an incredible 60 years, with her iconic hits including The Best, River Deep Mountain High and Proud Mary (apologies if that list just made you start power singing). 

But behind her global success, there is also a difficult story of surviving abuse, losing her son to suicide, a cancer diagnosis and living with depression. 

Turner has now collated all the life lessons she’s learned over the years in a new book Happiness Becomes You, and there is one we’ve really taken note of.

Interviewed for The Guardian on 8 December, Turner talked about the concept of “polishing your life’s mirror” and how it has helped her find her true reflection. 

The interviewer asked: “You also speak in the book about the concept of “polishing your life’s mirror” to help you see things clearly. What did you do to change your view of yourself and how did that change your life?”

Turner replied: “I came to realise that the way I saw myself had a strong influence on the way everyone else saw me. When I was young, my perception of myself was quite negative. I didn’t really care for the way I looked, especially how my legs looked, which is funny now because I became almost as famous for my legs as for my talent.”

She explained: “But once I decided that my personal standard of beauty would be my own, and that I’d never compare myself to others, I could finally appreciate myself fully. Then, if a negative thought ever came to mind, I’d replace it by repeating a positive one many times over, which worked wonders.”

Turner also shared the words she’d tell her younger self: “It would be the same thing I’d like to share with everyone: ‘You, exactly as you are, are worthy of all the love, kindness and joy in the world.’”

In this digital age, where comparison culture is rife, taking a moment to “polish your mirror” and set your own standards for what and who you want to be is well worth trying out.

Images: Getty