A Look in the Mirror

When is the last time you looked in the mirror?

I'm guessing it was within the last few hours - most of us do whenever we use a restroom. The typical assessment of your hair, your outfit or your makeup likely took place. Or maybe it was to brush your teeth and wash your face this morning. When doing so you likely critiqued yourself; finding things that you like and a list of things you want to adjust.

But I'm not talking about the surface level check your hair, fix your makeup, brush your teeth kind of mirror looking.

I'm talking about TRULY looking at YOURSELF. An honest, genuine reflection of YOU.

This type of reflection goes far deeper than surface level. Quite honestly it's something I'm guilty of not doing enough of. But it has extra struck me recently as something we all need to do much more of; something I've been striving to do daily.

I've sat in countless discussions lately that have included:

People pointing fingers.

People saying how things should be; how others should live their lives. How others should act.

And guess what? I'm guilty of doing it myself. We all are.

But have you ever realized how much people tend to focus on what everyone else should be doing and ignoring themselves from the conversation?

I heard something recently that serves as an analogy that fits beautifully to this topic. It was shared in the form of a soccer game, but I have a baseball heart so let's adjust accordingly.

Imagine you're driving home from your son’s baseball game; a game he ended up losing. He spends the whole drive home complaining about how the ump made bad calls, the other team cheated, or his teammates didn’t pull through. He shared every reason and example of how someone else did something wrong and that is why his team lost the game.

How do you respond to this?

Do you empathize with him? Do you join in the complaining?

Or do you drop some perspective for him to do some reflecting, encouraging him to grow, by asking him what he could have done to play a little better? What changes could he have made to how he showed up and how he played, to help the team do better?

I hope you choose the latter.

Whether you relate to this story as being a parent, grandparent, an Auntie, an Uncle, a coach, a player, or a fan, it doesn't really matter. The lesson shared relates to anyone and any situation.

Before you say something about how someone should act, look, feel, say, or what they should do differently, ask yourself: Are you bringing your best self to the game?

Why is it so easy to look at others BEHAVIORS and critique when we only seem to critique ourselves at face value.

Let's all take a deeper look the next time we look in the mirror. When doing so, be proud of what you see. Be Damn proud.

You may not be perfect, but you are worthy. You are a beautiful gift from God and you are SO worthy of whatever it is you want in this life.

And when telling yourself that, remember, so are the people around you.

You don't have to like what you're hearing or seeing. You don't have to agree with their perspective. Differing perspectives are an incredible benefit to us all, for with them we can all grow. But that can only happen when we love and respect.

So you need to respect their journey, for it's their journey. Not yours.

When you look at that mirror and you start seeing yourself at a deeper level, start by sharing a bit of love with yourself.

Then go out and share that love with the world.

God bless.