There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your looks, but being confident about the things you can do is what will really make you feel positively towards yourself, says Turia Pitt. The Australian author and motivational speaker talks to Kathryn Ryan about the advice in her new book for teens Good Selfie.

There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your looks, but being confident about the things you can do is what will really make you feel positively towards yourself, says Turia Pitt.

The Australian author and motivational speaker talks to Kathryn Ryan about the advice in her new book for teens - Good Selfie.

'Focus on the one small step you can do today and congratulate yourself when the day is over'

Listen to Kathryn Ryan's 2013 conversation with Turia Pitt here.

Eight years ago, Turia suffered horrific burns after getting caught in a grass fire while competing in a 100-kilometre ultramarathon.

Following two years of intensive rehab and over 200 medical procedures, Turia has now raised over $1 million for the charity Interplast, completed two Ironman competitions, written two best-selling books and had a son Hakavai with her longtime partner Michael Hoskin.

Turia receives a lot of questions from people around the world, and based Good Selfie on her answers to the "deep" questions young people ask.

Kids and teens can be refreshingly candid and honest, she says.

"As adults, we have so many filters and so many things we think are not appropriate for us to say. We're always so worried about saying the wrong thing."

First, hope and gratitude

As a little girl, Turia threw once a tantrum because she was "really bad" at maths, screaming "I can't do it!"

Her mum - "the wisest woman in the world" - said, "No, Turia. You can't do it YET."

"Those three little letters on the end of the sentence reminded me that the situation wasn't permanent. That was a lesson I took with me into my recovery because when I couldn't do something I wouldn't beat myself up ... hope is such a powerful thing.

"Going from a superconfident athletic outgoing person with a really great career as a mining engineer to a month later being in a hospital bed, physically incapacitated, unable to even feed myself... I didn't feel like me at all because everything that was me - being confident and being strong and athletic - was taken away from me."

Learning to stand up again was the hardest part of her recovery, Turia says…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details