When You Look in the Mirror, What Do You See?
By the age of 25 most of us already have a self image of who we are, and in turn live life based upon that image that we have of ourselves. All of the decisions we make and the actions that we take are influenced by that image that we hold to be true of ourselves. The self image that we have for ourselves determine what we think we can achieve, or that we cannot achieve, or our judgments and believes that correspond to our capabilities.
When we are presented with a decision the thought processes start, and the evaluations begin, “I think I can accomplish this”, “I cannot do this”, “I can never become this”, “I am sure one day this will happen”, etc..
Now the self image that we have of ourselves is shaped in the development stages of life and has many contributing factors that mold the outcome. Past experiences, successes, failures, feedback from peers, comments from strangers, the way we were raised and childhood experiences all play a part in this. I often refer to this as social programming. Many insignificant events that have happened to us, that we have probably already forgotten can have a permanent result on our self image.
We are creatures of habit and once we have the self image of ourselves created, we constantly reaffirm that image on a daily basis with the decisions and actions we take. We ensure that our future will be consistent with the self image that we hold to be true, with those actions and decisions.
This is why change is so painful to most people. If we wish our future to be different, then we have to start breaking out of the self image that we have developed for ourselves. And this explains the saying “If we want to change others and our world, then we must first change ourselves”. If we want to become a more confident person in the future, then we have to start working on a more confident self image today.
If our thoughts tend to be along the lines of “I do not have the confidence”, “My luck is terrible”, “I am poor” etc… Then that is the future that we are creating for ourselves. We need to take our self image seriously since it is the definition of what we will become tomorrow. If you seriously want change in your life, then we have to start with ourselves. We need to identify and remove the aspects that are holding us back and add the aspects that are harmonious with the future that we desire.
No one said it was going to be easy, and since there is no easy fix, most of us do not have the desire to fix it. But if you are a strong willed person, and can accept the changes that will create positive influence in your life, The World is Your Sandbox… Create at Will! Take Care my friends.
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Comments
You are very welcome, Charles - and thank you for stopping by to visit my place.
I agree, the intertwining of our ideas was really neat. I have been reading your words for well over a year, but only reading. Something inside of me changed, about a month ago, and I started coming out to participate.
Your words today really touched me.
Have a great day, my friend - Brett
It is also possible to decide that your life will be easy, that you will make choices that only enable you to feel good. This option often baffels people because they assume things must be hard. Imagine how your life would be different is you chose to change your own perspective.
Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.
“If our thoughts tend to be along the lines of “I do not have the confidence”, “My luck is terrible”, “I am poor” etc… Then that is the future that we are creating for ourselves. We need to take our self image seriously since it is the definition of what we will become tomorrow. If you seriously want change in your life, then we have to start with ourselves. We need to identify and remove the aspects that are holding us back and add the aspects that are harmonious with the future that we desire.”
I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.
Why look in a mirror?
Did you have 10 bags of groceries to bring in and you took them all in at once only to feel your heart beat hard momentarily? If so, good for you.
When you’re changing the oil on your car do you try to benchpress it just once to see if you still can? If so, good for you.
The mirror is a reflection that creates illusions in your brain. I prefer real. Lifes too short to worry about how long your arm hair length is, and I laugh at anyone who does that. They’re mirror sick to begin with imo and feel that the universe revolves around them. Reality check - nobody cares.
Charles - I really like what you wrote today.
Mirrors are powerful tools for introspection. And you are right, no one said it would be easy. But if you can figure out what you want to do, you can do it.
Thanks for the words - Brett