Glow-Up Challenge – How To Glow Up From Inside Out
This isn’t your regular one-week or one-month glow-up challenge.
And that’s because putting so much pressure on yourself to glow up within a week or a month isn’t realistic.
Which mostly leads to you dropping out of the whole thing when you don’t see quick results.
Instead, I’ll show you everything I did over the years to glow up from the inside out.
And what didn’t work, too.
Let’s begin.
First, you must know why you want to glow up
To glow up and progress with this challenge, you must know why you want it.
As for me, I wanted to feel confident in my skin.
So that means loving myself, stopping the comparison, judging people, etc.
Knowing what you want to achieve and working towards it will help you glow.
And it won’t be about anyone but yourself.
Because you’re doing it for you.
Now, let’s discuss what didn’t work in my glow-up journey
Yes, I call it a journey.
Because I see glowing up as a journey to a better you and living a much happier and more fulfilling life.
So when I first started my glow-up challenge, I wanted to drop baby weight.
After two kids, minimal movements, and eating a lot, I gained over 25 lbs.
One day, I decided I wanted to glow up.
Though I didn’t use that term.
I just wanted to lose weight
And I started working out, eating less, and making videos to track my progress.
No, I was making videos for social media.
And the pressure started mounting on me.
I wasn’t getting to my goal quickly.
Also, I believed my videos weren’t good enough because other people had better videos.
I was looking for social media validation
Then I realized I was doing a glow-up for social media and not for me.
What’s the point of trying to be better if you’re looking for validation from strangers online?
So, I stopped and took a long break from social media, Instagram, to be precise.
That was my first attempt at glowing up, and I failed woefully.
But I didn’t give up.
Now, here’s what I did to glow up and continue glowing
Before you start a glow-up journey, you need to have specific goals you want to achieve with this journey.
So here’s what helped me the second time around:
Mind glow-up
Your mind is one of the most complex parts of yourself to change.
Because it’s powerful.
And our minds get used to habits that we’ve practiced for years.
So, changing your mind to think differently is a whole battle.
But you can do it.
Here’s how to have a mind glow-up:
1. Shut your jealous mind
At some point in your life, you have been jealous of someone you know or didn’t know.
I used to be jealous of people with the kind of life I’d love to have.
Because I didn’t have access to their kind of life, I found something wrong with them.
I’d even judge them harshly, like they’re doing something wrong for living a fabulous life.
Jealousy is a very horrible thing.
It can drive you to hate people you know and don’t know.
And it made me miserable.
But I didn’t want to be miserable
So, I started controlling that jealous thought when it came up
And when I think of putting down someone, I remind myself to think of something good instead.
Then, I’d admire and move on.
Sometimes, I tell myself, “No, she’s pretty; don’t be jealous.”
Yes, I did that.
You know when you’re in the shower alone with your thoughts.
That’s when you remember both vital and unimportant things.
Those are the best times to shut down your jealous and over-critical mind.
You can even say it out loud.
I’m not saying you should shout out. Lol.
But say it in your head or out loud.
2. Next, train your mind not to judge others
I started learning how to stop judging others.
Sitting on your high horse and judging others for choosing differently is easy.
Back then, I thought every woman should want a relationship, marriage, children, etc.
And it felt strange to hear women say they don’t want marriage or kids.
And I’d judge them.
But with time, I understood that women can be happy with or without relationships or kids.
Also, I started reminding myself that people have the right to choose differently.
Just the way I have the right to choose my life.
So when I feel like judging someone, I smile and say, “What if that’s what makes them happy?”
This has helped me to control my need to judge people.
And my life has been a lot better since then.
3. Stop comparing your life to others
To succeed in a glow-up challenge, you must stop comparing your life to others.
When you stop comparing yourself to others, you’ll learn to accept yourself, flaws and all.
Maybe your friends are killing it in their careers, businesses, and whatnot.
Comparing yourself to them doesn’t help you.
Instead, focus on your strengths, work on your goals, and achieve them.
And continue to remind yourself of your unique strengths.
And if you must compare, compare yourself to who you were yesterday.
That’s what helped me to move forward in my mind glow-up challenge.
4. Shut your inner critique voice
Another thing I did to glow up was try to quiet my inner critique voice.
Though I’m not over this one, I’ve come very far.
And one of the things that helped me was Amber’s newsletter.
Check out Amber’s newsletter if you love writing, but your inner critique voice stops you from moving forward.
The thing is, your inner critique voice is powerful.
And it can keep you helpless and anxious and unable to take big steps in life.
But to have a mind glow up, you must learn to tell that voice to STFU.
Yes, there are times when you must listen to your gut.
However, you should also be able to discern when your mind is saying, “You can’t do it.”
Now, come closer, “You can do it,” “You’ve got this.”
5. Stop worrying about what people think
The icing to a successful mind glow-up is to stop caring what people think of you.
I know we want to be liked.
But believe me, it’s okay for some people to dislike us.
That’s what makes life balanced.
And that’s why you mustn’t worry about what’s in someone else’s mind.
Of which they might not even be judging you.
But who cares if they judge or dislike you?
You must start living life on your terms, not giving a hoot about who likes or dislikes you.
As long as you’re not being a jerk.
When I stopped caring what people thought of me, I started progressing.
Sometimes, the feeling creeps up, but I shut it down with “Who cares?” or “I don’t GAF.”
Physical glow up
Like the others, a physical glow-up must also be considered a lifestyle.
So this is what I did for a physical glow-up:
6. Start a workout routine
You don’t have to register at a gym if you don’t want to.
But you can start a workout routine at home.
I first started working out at home before joining a gym.
And going to the gym changed the game.
I became stronger and felt comfortable working out around other people.
Which also helps you not care what people think of you.
Read this post about how to get comfortable at the gym.
So you can go there, crush your workout, and enjoy that weight-lifting dopamine hit.
With time, you’ll start feeling stronger, and the physical change will come after.
7. Start eating more nutritious foods
Another thing that will help your physical glow-up is adding more nutritious foods to your diet.
You’ll feel and look great when you start fueling your body correctly.
Once in a while, you’ll eat something that’s not in line with your goals.
But don’t beat yourself up.
It happens to all of us.
I still eat a cookie or two occasionally when I bake them.
The next day, return to eating whole foods.
8. Wear clothes that flatter your body type
Another thing I did to glow up physically was wearing clothes that flatter my body.
I hid my body in loose-fitting clothes when I gained 25 lbs.
But as I started walking, running, training, etc., I felt more confident wearing what I liked.
Your body might not be where you want it to be.
But don’t be afraid to wear what you love.
When you look good, you’ll feel good.
Most importantly, focus on your goal.
Skincare glow up challenge
I’ve always had dry skin.
So, I recently added skincare glow-up to my journey.
And I’ve been loving my results.
Here’s what I did:
9. Sunscreen
Add sunscreen to your skincare routine if you’ve not been using it.
Sunscreen protects your skin from environmental pollution that causes premature skin aging.
And I noticed a huge improvement when I started using sunscreen.
10. Cleanser
To glow up skincare-wise, you need to start using gentle cleansers.
They deeply clean your face, removing makeup, oils, sweat, and dirt.
It opens your pores to soak up skin care treatments.
Other things to prioritize for a skin glow-up are:
11. Moisturizers
Use good moisturizers to keep your skin hydrated and plump.
12. Skip makeup some days
Reduce makeup use.
Sometimes, let your skin breathe.
Get used to not wearing makeup on some days.
This also boosts confidence and helps you care less about what anyone thinks.
13. Toss the makeup brushes and sponges
Throw those makeup sponges away.
They’re partly the cause of your regular breakouts.
14. Exfoliate your skin
Exfoliate regularly but gently to remove dead skin and encourage skin renewal.
But use sunscreen after exfoliation to protect your skin from sun damage.
Relationship glow up
Yes, it would be best if you also glowed up in your relationships.
So, how do you do a relationship glow-up?
15. Cut off friendships that bring drama
One of the best things you’ll do for yourself is cut off friendships that bring drama into your life.
I don’t know what kind of drama your friends are giving you.
But when the friendship starts becoming toxic, it’s time to let it go.
When jealousy, competition, or basing your worth on material things becomes the other of the day, it’s time to cut it off.
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16. Stay in touch with good friends
For friendships to continue, you must stay in touch.
You know the people you love hanging out with that add meaning to your life; keep in touch with them.
And you might not talk every day.
But when you do, you have much catching up to do.
And those friendships are the best in the world.
They bring you joy and peace, making you glow from the inside out.
Recommended posts
Maintaining Friendships After Marriage – 7 Savvy Tips
6 Realistic Tips For Making new friends in your 40s
17. Invest in your romantic relationship
You can skip this if you’re not or aren’t interested in a romantic relationship.
But investing in my marriage made me even happier.
Every day I wake up, I choose my husband.
I focus on the things I love about him instead of his shortcomings.
We all have our shortcomings.
But we also have parts of us that one or more people love to death.
Focus on the things you love about that special person.
And you’ll have a relationship where you both have flaws but still love each other.
This is not to say you should ignore red flags.
I know you’re wise and can figure this shii out.
Conclusion on how to do a glow-up challenge
So that’s everything I did to glow up.
It took me years, and I’m still on it.
But I’m way ahead of where I started.
Take one day at a time; your glow-up challenge will go smoothly, and your life will improve.
If you find this post helpful, please share it.
Thanks for reading.
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