The Best Mirrors are Not Made of Glass
The good thing about the mirror in your bath room or hallway is that it lets you see the physical surface you very quickly. Do you have something stuck in your teeth, is your hair combed the way you like it, does the outfit you are wearing look the way you hoped it would.
Some mirrors seem to make you look better than others, at least that’s been my experience. Although, I have to admit that the older I get, the less I like looking in a mirror. It’s a surface view of my aging process😊 and frankly I don’t FEEL my aging nearly as much as a mirror shows it to me, so I don’t really like the reminder that I have a whole lot less days left on this planet than I have already had.
As a kid, on those special trips where we would go to Ocean City, MD for a few days, I used to love the funhouse mirrors that make you look all kinds of crazy ways…sort of like the phone apps of today that distort your face.
But here’s the thing…all a glass mirror does is show you how YOU perceive how you look. It has little to nothing to do with how someone else sees you on the surface. You might look in the mirror and think your outfit looks great while everyone else is scratching their head wondering how you could possibly wear that in public? This more likely refers to me and not you…a fashion plate I am not!
You might also tend to look at what you DON’T like about how you look more than what you do. That’s a pretty normal thing isn’t it?
The bottom line from my point of view is that mirrors of glass do more harm than good. They don’t tell us much truth about what is truly important to us, and if we aren’t careful they can cause us to self-sabotage by doing things short-term that hurt us in the long run. Surface things are usually connected to instant gratification, and THAT is definitely connected inherently to disaster in the long run.
The Best Mirrors…
I want you to live your richest life possible. This means an abundance of the things that matter most (not just money, although abundance is a very good thing). There are several things right off the top of my head that will mirror to you if you are on the right path for this to happen. Here goes…
Calendar– Where you are spending your time is the point of this one. Time is your number one life currency and your life will absolutely reflect back to you how you are spending it.
Checkbook– This could be a bank statement for those who don’t use a checkbook anymore. Essentially it’s as simple as where are you spending your money? This will reveal quite a bit about your habits and what you are prioritizing (not necessarily what are your actual priorities…if they are different, then this mirror is telling you that you are headed for some serious trouble.)
Love Relationships– This one is fairly easy to reflect on…if it’s not good, you have work to do.
Friends– It’s been said that you will be a lot like your five closest friends. Pretty general, I know…and also generally accurate. Look at your closest true friends…not social media friends, not friends of convenience, not friends because you work together…your long-standing friendships will reflect a great deal to you. It’s possible you may want to let some friendships go…so you can make room for new ones that fit your evolution.
Physical Health– This is the easiest one and the most honest. If you are, and have been, doing the right things, you can tell…and if the opposite is true, you know that too.
Journals– One of my favorites. These tell the story of your life…what you are experiencing, what you want, what you struggle with, learn, love, loathe, etc. If you don’t capture it, you will repeat many of the same errors over and over, and you will wait way too long to finally do the things you truly want to be doing.
Values– These final three are tougher. Reflecting and clarifying what you truly value is fundamental to an awesome life. Why is this? Because there are so many forces pushing against you and trying to influence you for THEIR benefit, that if you don’t have clarity in what you value, then you will live according to what others value, and you will spend a great deal of time wondering why you are unhappy. You have to have clarity to know proactively what you will and will not, do.
Principles-These guide a great deal of how you approach things. These are the foundation to achievement. Your practical guidelines for the way you engage. Your behaviors, methods, practices, etc. For example, a simple principle of mine (among many which I list in 3 Circles Living) is that “Things of value take time and consistent effort to accomplish.” This keeps me from EVER falling for anything that seems like an easy short-cut. If you are operating in opposition to the right principles, you will have this reflected right back to you.
Beliefs– This is the deepest, and the has the most room for error. Especially when it comes to self-belief. Poor, limited, or faulty self-belief will yield results in life that will clearly leave you feeling bad about life. You have to purposefully look at your self-beliefs as well as your beliefs about the world around you. Challenge your assumptions, because that is what most beliefs are…assumptions. This is so crucial because your beliefs, which come from how you think, will dictate what you choose, which depending on the level of action, will dictate your results in life. So you can see…poor beliefs=poor choices, and the rest follows.
Once I began writing this, I realized that this topic was a lot bigger than I can do justice to in a short article. I wrote it anyway, because I know that my readers are sincerely trying to improve their lives and ultimately make their best contribution for those they love and the greater good, and that you could take what I shared an utilize it.
If you feel like this could be of help to someone, please share. Given the time of year and the likelihood that you are actively stepping up your getting healthy game, I am sharing below for you a Facebook Live I did a few years ago that may help you on your health journey.
If you need some Coaching, or Training for your organization, reach out to me.
Many Blessings, Todd
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