Brooke Shields Calls 'Entertaining' Her Insecurities 'Exhausting': 'Comparison Is a Losing Game'

"I'm not criticizing myself for all the things that I'm not, which I did a lot of in my younger years," Brook Shields tells PEOPLE

Brooke shields jordache ad 2022
Photo: Cass Bird

Brooke Shields is owning her confidence.

The model and actress, 56, partnered with denim brand Jordache for its Spring 2022 campaign. While prompting Jordache's latest line, Shields is opening up to PEOPLE about how she's let go of her insecurities after years of "exhausting" self-criticism.

Shields, who was photographed by Cass Bird for the Jordache campaign, says she is in a better spot now after practicing the "losing game" of comparison as a young woman.

"It's exhausting entertaining your insecurities," she tells PEOPLE. "It is truly exhausting. And then you get to this age."

Brooke shields jordache ad 2022
Cass Bird

Shields, who is mom to two daughters — Rowan, 18, and Grier, 15 — whom she shares with husband Chris Henchy, acknowledged her accomplishments, telling PEOPLE, "I've raised my kids for the most part. I've had a 21-year-long marriage. I'm still working."

She adds, "I'm not criticizing myself for all the things that I'm not, which I did a lot of in my younger years. I did a lot of comparison, and that's just a losing game."

While "people are always surprised" to hear she "was comparing myself," Shields says, "I'm human. I've always been human. And I got so used to self-deprecation that it started to take a toll on my psyche and just me in general."

These days, the model says she's in a better spot, and works to set a confident example for her teen daughters.

"I realized that I can't represent that to my daughters. So I tried to turn it all around a little bit, in how I chose to see myself," she tells PEOPLE. "And it's not an easy task, and you have to really remind yourself and keep practicing it. But I had practiced the alternative for decades."

Shields says she upped her confidence before her Jordache photoshoot by working out with trainer Ngo Okafor to get the "strong, hard-working" look championed by Jordache.

"We did 5 a.m. workouts, but I wasn't drinking so it was easier to wake up in the morning," she says, adding, "I pushed it to the limit. My ego helped! I thought, "If you do these pictures and you are not happy with what you see, you'll be hard on yourself."

For more on Shields new campaign, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE on stands everywhere Friday.

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