Cindy Crawford shares advice for her younger self as she celebrates her 56th birthday

By Hayley FitzPatrick

Cindy Crawford celebrated her 56th birthday on Sunday and looked back on lessons she's learned in honor of her special day.

The supermodel and mother of two shared a throwback image of herself as a child and offered a few words of advice she would tell "little Cindy" in the caption of the post.

"I would tell her to be kinder to herself, to treat herself the way she treats her friends," she began. "I would tell her everyone feels nervous in new situations and sometimes you just have to fake it ‘til you make it."

"I would tell her not to be afraid to make a fool of herself— dance, sing, etc more — even if she isn’t good at it," she continued.

The model also included that she would advise her younger self to "laugh as much as possible," "be vulnerable" and to "risk showing her true self to people she loves— the payoff is worth it."

She closed her message with, "Practice gratitude. Keep growing and learning and becoming…life is a blessing! 💜"

Crawford, who rose to fame in the '90s and is considered one of the original supermodels, has two children, 20-year-old Kaia and 22-year-old Presley, with her husband Rande Gerber.

Kaia has followed in her mother's footsteps in the industry, taking over runways worldwide, appearing on covers of notable fashion magazines across the globe and landing large fashion campaigns.

The mother-daughter duo share a close bond; on Cindy's birthday, Kaia shared a loving message in which she wrote about her admiration for her mother.

"happy birthday mom ❤️ here’s to celebrating you every day because one day a year will never be enough," she wrote alongside a throwback of Cindy. "My hero forever. I love you @cindycrawford"