Love the Person in the Mirror
“I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways.”
- Michael Jackson (Man in the Mirror)
Truth Time: When you look at yourself in the mirror do you admire all the good parts, or do you start nitpicking the tiny flaws?
Don’t be embarrassed if you only see the negative parts. Most of us do.
The more I go out and speak and the more clients I become associated with I continue to find how many truly are embarrassed or genuinely dislike the person that they look at in the mirror.
And by this I don’t mean the physical features they see … I’m talking about the “person”.
This negative messaging is literally killing us.
I am a truth teller and I tell them as much. How can you continue to be the best version of you when your early morning pep talk to yourself is, “I hate everything about you.”
The Image in the Mirror
Why do we do this?
Most studies show it’s usually one or a combination of three mental images we have about ourselves. First, it’s because we don’t believe we are worthy of what we have or what our life has earned for us. Second, we aren’t satisfied with where we are at and are disappointed in how far behind our dreams we are. Third, we buy into the negative things that others say about us and think that it must be true.
WHY?
All three of these images are negative images that have been put there by other people.
It may be within your family. The way we are brought up can either be a positive loving situation or a very abusive relationship, or somewhere in between. Within the same family two siblings can end up on opposite ends of the spectrum, even though they were brought up in similar circumstances.
It may come from the people you associate with. We are surrounded by hundreds and thousands of people during our lifetime. Just think, first you have your family. From there you move into a school environment full of a diverse set of classmates and teachers. Then as you move into a college setting you begin to socialize with an entirely different group of people. And then there are the people in your workplace. Add to that other groups such as your religious affiliation, any professional clubs or groups. By the end we are inundated with the thoughts and opinions of thousands of people.
Even with all of these negative messages it may be a reaction to your environment. Even when we are alone, we have books, magazines, television, movies, podcasts, social media telling us who is good or who is bad. What defines “success” and what makes people failures.
Who wouldn’t be led down a path of negativity. In today’s society the negative vibes that surround us can leave us questioning everything about ourselves.
Watch one network and they say if you are a good business person you are successful. Watch another and they will tell you if you are a good business person you are killing humanity.
Which is it?
The Answer
Feed’em fish heads. They’re all wrong.
Let me ask you, of all those kids you grew up with in elementary school, junior high, high school how many do you talk to at least once a week? How many of the opinions you had in college do you still have today? How many people in your church, civic group or even your work space would you trade your life for theirs?
Exactly. ZERO
Here is the truth of the matter. You are worthy of everything you have earned in your life. You GET TO decide what “success” is. You don’t need someone else’s contrived metric to feel good about yourself.
If you are still chasing your passion, then good for you. Continue to plan and pursue. Be the hunter and be excited about where you are and plan on where you are going to be in the future.
And finally, if someone says something derogatory about you, they aren’t mad that you are where you are at, they just are jealous that it’s not them. If what they say is true, and it bothers you, then own it and make the necessary adjustments and then go on with your life. I only know of one person, who has walked this earth, who didn’t have to make at least one U-Turn during their life.
The next time you look in the mirror smile and say, “I’m glad you’re here today, because we have some great things in store for us today.”
Because the day you don’t wake up the game has ended and all that negativity that you spewed upon yourself was probably the cause of your demise, and now you can’t do anything about it.
So, until that day, move away from the negative and lean into the possibilities to live the life that you are meant to live.
Have an amazing day!
