Melissa Ambrosini has inspired people to be their best selves for many years. She began her career as a model, TV presenter, actress and professional dancer before shifting to motivational speaking, writing and podcasting. Ambrosini’s health played a major role in her transition. “I was trashing my body,” she states. “I was partying, I was not eating healthy foods, I was not exercising. I had a very loud inner critic and toxic thoughts in my mind. I did not value sleep or water. I did not value nature or meditation. I did not value many things.” She goes on to say, “The universe took my health away from me and it made me realize how important it was. It forced me to make a shift.”
The Australian native was hospitalized, suffering from a slew of mental and physical health issues. She came to the realization that she had to get her health back, as it was the first step on the road to true happiness. “I went and hired a health coach and a life coach and I didn’t realize how powerful that was for me. It led to me wanting to help people in a similar fashion. I was getting that support from other people and I wanted to give that back to others in the same way,” Ambrosini explains.
Motivational Speaker and Author
The yearning to help people unlock their best selves and defeat their inner critics, much like she did, drove Ambrosini to spread her message through many different mediums. Whether it’s through her podcast The Melissa Ambrosini Show, where she tackles a wealth of topics from career and spirituality to relationship and finance or speaking at events and TedTalks, Ambrosini always tackles the worst side of any subject in order to bring out the best.
She’s also recently released her fourth book, Comparisonitis, where she addresses a topic that may be extremely familiar to many of us. “Comparisionitis is when we compare ourselves to someone else in an unhealthy and toxic way,” Ambrosini explains. “And we make it mean something negative about ourselves.”
A breeding ground for comparisonitis in today’s world is social media. Ambrosini says that although social media is a revolutionary way to connect with people and promote yourself, it can get extremely unhealthy when we forget things such as the comparison of other people’s best times to our worse. “It’s not the totality of someone’s life. It’s a five-second snippet on a story or one post out of the 24-hours of their day. You’re not seeing the whole picture,” she says.
Ambrosini explains that coming from the world of acting, modeling and dancing, she fell victim to comparisonitis more times than she can remember. “For me, body image was definitely a thing. I would compare myself so strongly to other women. Whether it be that I felt like I wasn’t skinny enough or pretty enough or tall enough or too tall or too skinny.”
Positive Comparisons
The concept of comparisonitis seems frightening but there are some forms that are encouraged. “Looking back and reflecting on your life while thinking, ‘Wow, look at how much I’ve grown’ or ‘Look at how far I’ve come’ is a healthy compassion.” Ambrosini says, “We can turn comparison into inspiration and motivation.”
A New Joy
With all the joy Ambrosini feels from helping people all over the world, she’s filled with a joy she never thought she’d feel: the joy of being a mother. After a brief struggle to get pregnant, Ambrosini and her husband conceived a beautiful baby girl, proving not only that she never gives up, but she practices what she preaches—and if she can overcome her obstacles, so can we. “Being a mom is the best thing ever! For me, the rest of this year will be filled with being the most patient and present mom that I can be. I just want to be with my daughter and be present with her.” melissaambrosini.com
