Cecilia Wong, founder of her eponymous skincare brand, has tons of knowledge to impart. The New York aesthetician believes that when you are confident, you are beautiful and started her line of natural skincare after her own battles with problem skin. Here, I tapped Cecilia to share her Five Rules For Life. Here they are, in her words.

 1. Be comfortable in your own skin. It’s easy to find flaws and imperfections in ourselves. After all, we are our own worst critics! I’ve found the key to happiness lies in choosing to accept my imperfections and love myself unconditionally.

2. Spend some time outside every day. Sunshine supplies the body with Vitamin D, which decreases your risk of certain diseases (including cancer), boosts bone and muscle health, and raises serotonin levels leaving you energized and happy. When I’m in need of some mental and spiritual healing, I slather on sunscreen and head outside.

3. Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you. When we encounter hardships, mistakes or failures in our lives it’s easy to beat ourselves up. But in these instances it’s important to practice self-compassion. I work to acknowledge my personal failures, stay mindful of negative emotions and replace self-criticism with kinder words.

4. Practice kindness and compassion daily. I love this quote from the Dalai Lama, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” To me, reacting to situations with kindheartedness has always been the best route and is something I strive to do every day.

5. Always stay positive. Your capabilities aren’t derived from birth or destiny, but from diligence, perseverance and your belief in yourself. I’ve always been diligent about shifting my mindset when I’m in a negative place and making the best out of hard situations. With a positive outlook, we’re able to achieve anything we want.

Thanks, Cecilia!Stay tuned for more Five Rules installments. 

“Five Rules” is a series on Rouge18 in which I ask others to share their five rules for life about anything and everything. You can learn a lot about a person by reading which five things govern their actions, no?