body positivity

Danielle Brooks Gave Herself a Quick Self-esteem Check at the Gym

Danielle Brooks. Photo: D Dipasupil/Getty Images for Advertising Wee

Let’s face it: Getting to the gym is half the battle. And if you make it there, do your duty, and work up quite a sweat, chances are you’re feeling pretty good about yourself and running on that endorphins high. But as Danielle Brooks can attest, that feel-good moment at the gym can come crashing down when self-doubt leaves an opening for insecurity to creep in. Brooks, best known, perhaps, for her role as Taystee on Orange Is the New Black, had one such moment over the weekend when she was feeling great about herself at the gym, but was suddenly overcome with a feeling of doubt.

The situation went down a little like this: According to a video Brooks shared on Instagram, she was working out at the gym without her shirt on (as she says she normally does) and was feeling great about herself. Until, of course, she was in the locker room and saw another woman walk in who had an ultra-fit physique. And that’s when that feeling of self-doubt crept in. She became ashamed of how she looked, and wondered if maybe she should put on her shirt again. She says she thought about why her mood suddenly shifted and she asked herself, Why compare myself to someone else? “Why, just two minutes ago, I was feeling great, and now I’m not?” she says in the video. Her mini-epiphany came moments later when she realized that she initially felt good because she was comparing herself to no one else except “yesterday’s Danielle.” And ultimately, she added, “Today’s Danielle is better than yesterday’s.”

The moral of the story? No use comparing yourself to others. Instead, “just be a better you.”

Check out the full video below:

Danielle Brooks Gave Herself a Body-Positive Talk at the Gym