Uncover the Magic: Take a Look in the Mirror for Self-Reflection

steven huysseune
Jul 18, 2024
9 min read

Updated: Sep 23, 2024

Mirror, mirror on the wall,

who is the fairest of them all?

How often have we heard this question from the famous fairy tale during our childhood?

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had a magic mirror that would honestly tell us how beautiful, amazing, smart, and successful we are? You wake up, get up, go to the bathroom and there someone is waiting for you who whispers all these beautiful things to you. What a way to start the day.

We all stand in front of the mirror a lot and use it to take care of our appearance, fix our hair, shave or put on makeup, check our outfit, see if that pimple is still there. We all do it, some more frequently than others, but we all use it.

But how many of us use it to put our inner selves in order, to take an honest look at ourselves in the eyes, to whisper something sweet to ourselves, to confront ourselves?

This will be a lot fewer people, myself, for a long time, included.

Why? The mirror is honest, it doesn't lie.

It will honestly tell you whether you feel good or bad

To the outside world it is very easy to put up a facade, but there in front of the mirror, just you and yourself, that is not possible. Because the mirror does not lie. It will honestly tell you whether you feel good or bad, whether you believe in yourself or not, it will tell you whether the reasons you give are grounded or pure BS.

The mirror is honest, always!

That's why it's not easy and we don't do it or very little. We are afraid to be confronted with our inner selves.

Don't believe me, or do you want to experience how difficult this is?

Get up now, go to the nearest mirror and look yourself in those beautiful eyes of yours for a full 5 minutes. You don't have to do anything, say anything, ask anything, don't judge, just look deep into your own eyes and experience. Go now, challenge yourself, I'll wait...

And? How did you experience this? How did it feel? Was it comfortable or not?

Probably not, but don't be hard on yourself. The first time is, as with everything, the hardest time. This will change the more often you do it.

If you really want to be brave, share briefly in the comments section how you experienced this.

I Love You

subconscious, we don't really like the person in the mirror, we don't love ourselves, we lie to ourselves, we know that we are and can be much better

When I was at my lowest, alone, without anyone around me who was honest with me, who supported me, who sincerely told me; I'm here for you, I love you, I discovered the power of the mirror. For me too, this was not easy the first time, uncomfortable.

Why? Mostly because deep down, in our subconscious, we don't really like the person in the mirror, we don't love ourselves, we lie to ourselves, we know that we are and can be much better than the person standing there in front of us. Looking yourself in the eyes in the mirror tells you honestly what and how you think about yourself.

Are you not quite with me yet? No problem, go back on your research, get up and go to your new friend, named Mirror. Look yourself deeply in the eyes and say, I love you. You don't have to say more, "only" I love you and this while you hold your gaze, look through the windows of your soul.

Go ahead, I'll wait, I have all the time...

And how was it? How did you experience it? You don't have to tell me and share this experience. Just be honest with yourself.

Do you want to share it anyway? Feel free to leave a comment...

My first time was a two-part experience for me. In the first moment it was very uncomfortable, I couldn't keep looking myself in the eyes, I looked down. This experience confronted me with the fact that I didn't believe what I heard. The mirror told me that I didn't love myself. Know, the mirror never lies!

But don't worry because just a few seconds after this, not so nice confrontational experience, I persisted and said the magic words again, I love you and although it still didn't feel very comfortable, I got a pleasant warm feeling inside.

There is nothing more beautiful than someone saying I love you to you! And this time I didn't have to wait for someone to say it to me, it came from myself through my new friend, the mirror.

Positive affirmations

This is one of the many magical powers that a mirror possesses, the power of positive affirmations and these have even more magic precisely because we say them to ourselves.

Of course, "I love you" is at the top of the list of spells, along with "I am grateful for...", but the list is long, endless.

Do you want to experience how powerful these are?

Get up... yes, again! Working on yourself is certainly the hardest job you will ever do and you really have to do something for it. Nothing for nothing! But know that although inner work is hard, confronting, what you get in return is priceless, at least for those who want to do something for it.

So, go to your buddy and repeat these affirmations while looking into your eyes.

I am worthy of being happy.
I have confidence in my own abilities.
I will not let fear hold me back.
I am beautiful inside and out.
I accept my body for what it is.
I deserve love and happiness.

After you have repeated each affirmation, wait a few seconds before moving on to the next one, give them time to sink in.

Now you have experienced how magical this act can be, because at the very least you have grown a few centimetres.

At the bottom I have compiled a list of affirmations divided into different categories and feel free to add to this list. The more you have, the better.

Confront yourself

Of course, the mirror has even more magical powers, such as the power to see whether you are lying to yourself about certain things, or whether you are being honest with yourself about yourself. Because we often lie to the outside world about our inner world, but even more often we lie to ourselves a bit about certain things.

We are all very strong in judging and condemning the world around us, and certainly in modern times of the internet and we can go very far and hard in this. And at one point or another, we are all guilty of this, some more than others, but we all can't help but criticize something or someone from time to time.

But do you also dare to do this with the same strength and conviction, not anonymously behind a computer, or even worse, behind someone's back, but to yourself, about yourself? Challenge yourself, confront yourself!

Remember, do this with love and patience. You can be honest with yourself, you can also be tough, because a good kick in the butt now and then can work wonders. But do this with love and empathy, remember, the person standing there is also just a product of past experiences. Deep down, these products were created to create defense mechanisms, to prevent you from being hurt as much again in the future as you were then. At the time they were created, they were useful, in the long run harmful. They hold us back from fully being the person we truly are. So be honest, be tough, but not too tough either, judge but don't condemn.

The times I have exposed myself in this way are many. Because we like to make things up to ourselves so that we don't have to be confronted with a painful truth. But as you already know, the mirror never lies.

This is how I have come to many insights. Painful? Definitely! Fun? Certainly not! Liberating? Absolutely! But being honest with yourself is one of the parts of growth. And what better place than in front of the mirror...

How do you do this?

Have an honest conversation with yourself, like you would have a honest conversation with a good friend. And as a good conversation goes, don't talk all the time, listen especially. The answers will come from within.

Asking questions

One power that I want to briefly discuss is the power of asking questions.

There is only one person in life who knows the answer to your questions and that is you, yourself and here too a mirror can be an ideal tool.

Sometimes we are so tied up in knots with ourselves about certain things that we can't see the forest through the trees. We doubt ourselves so much and through the growth of modern technologies, we are so far removed from the power of our intuition that we can't find a clear answer to the questions that preoccupy us.

Of course, it can be good to ask the opinions of our loved ones, but don't forget, others will give answers from their own perspective and experiences, with their own glasses on. And as we all know, glasses are something personal, glasses are made to make a certain person see clearly, for another person they make the image blurry. There is only one person in life who knows the answer to your questions and that is you, yourself and here too a mirror can be an ideal tool.

How?

Stand in front of the mirror, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, exhale slowly, while you ask the question that preoccupies you, open your eyes and look in them. The first answer that comes to mind, that comes from your gut is the answer you've been looking for. That is the answer that comes from your inner core, from your intuition.

Have you got your answer, but you don't trust your intuition yet, I'm saying yet, because getting in touch with and strengthening your intuition takes practice and trust. Have a conversation with yourself, in the mirror. Ask further questions, give your opinion, what you think about it, go deeper into it and eventually you will have a clear answer left. And usually, the one you got first.

Try it! It really works!

Know that the greater part of who we are or rather, who we have become, takes place in the subconscious. And if you find it hard to believe this, then think about the following, scientific fact; A human has an average of 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts per day. Yes, you read that right, 60,000 to 70,000 thoughts/DAY.

This fact alone is hard to believe. Why? Because 95% of these thoughts are unconscious, we are not consciously aware of them. But you can be sure that they have a great influence on how we feel, how we behave and who we are.

Become aware of the unconscious and an ideal place is in front of the mirror.

As the greater part of our problems lie in the subconscious, so lay all the answers to these problems. Yes, all of them! Inside everyone there is a source of infinite intelligence, a source that has all the answers. Everyone can tap into this source by becoming aware of the unconscious.

The mirror: Your best friend

The mirror is more than just a simple piece of glass; it is a powerful tool for self-reflection, transformation, and growth.

I am not a doctor or psychiatrist myself, I can only speak from my own experience, but if I were a doctor, my standard prescription for all my patients would be:

stand in front of the mirror 2 times a day, 1 x after waking up, 1 x before going to bed, for 5 minutes and say positive affirmations to yourself while looking into your eyes.

Become your best friend…

You will not only learn from it, but you will also grow from it and feel a lot better about yourself. Which will of course give you a mental and physical boost, to help you further on your way to a healthier life.

Have Fun!

Steven.

Did you find this article helpful, and do you want to share your experience with others to inspire them? Leave something in the comments.

Do you feel that your friends and family can be helped by this article? Feel free to share it.

As promised, here you have a list of different affirmations, categorized with different purposes. Choose them based on the goals you want to achieve and feel free to add to them, as with everything in life, the possibilities are endless.

Uplifting affirmations for the mirror:

General: