I made a post on Facebook yesterday that really got my wheels turning. The post started with, “If you’re searching for that one person who will change your life this year, take a look in the mirror.” That prompted me to think about the times in my life where looking in the mirror was uncomfortable. I was lacking self confidence and also, wasn’t truly sure of the direction I was going in my life. So, it was extremely uncomfortable. Like the time I hired a personal trainer and he wanted me to look in the mirror as I lifted weights. Totally not comfortable for me!
The day we were born was a clean slate for us. Our minds completely pure. As toddlers, we would look at ourselves in the mirror and laugh, dance, make silly faces, and so on. I watch my youngest daughter, in all her innocence, doing this daily. But somewhere along the way, as we grow up with the beliefs surrounding us, the people who spoke into our lives that maybe we didn’t have control over at a young age, the television shows we watched, the influence of our peers as we walked through childhood and adolescence, we see ourselves begin to change. Maybe we don’t feel “good enough,” “smart enough,” “thin enough,” “pretty enough.” I mean, that list could go on and on. There are beliefs instilled in us as we are maturing that are now rocks in our minds and as we transition into adulthood, if we don’t intentionally work on some of the beliefs and focus on growth, there they are, staring us back in the mirror. To the point where looking in the mirror seems uncomfortable, hard, even scary at times.
This happened to me. All of this. Daily I struggled. Then one day, things began to change because I DECIDED to change. I started to be able to look in the mirror a little longer. I started to smile a bit more. I saw myself a little differently. I realized I could change some of these beliefs in my mind. I didn’t have to stay in nursing if I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to stay in debt if I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to constantly try to squeeze my “round” personality in a “square” hole if I didn’t want to. I started asking myself what did I truly believe in, in myself, and in the world? What did I see in my future? Then, I began to recognize that I was the one who could go out and create what I envisioned.
It is okay to remove all of the masks you have worn all of your life and drop the person you have pretended to be all of these years. It’s hard to let go of the things that are comfortable and feel easy even when they are no longer serving you. As humans, we can tend to cling to unhealthy ways of thinking and negative perceptions of ourselves when we take a look in the mirror and we can even cling to this way of thinking in relationships that are no longer bearing fruit. All of these things have served their purpose in our lives, but in order to seek the future we desire, they must be released from our minds.
Take a look in the mirror a bit longer today. Practice a bit more positive self talk. Make that decision to leave the past where it should be, in the past, and seek your future.