1/23/07: Be With Yourself

If you want to know how you really feel about yourself, spend 5 minutes in front of the mirror alone.

And naked.

While you may look in the mirror everyday, you fail to truly see yourself because you are too busy doing everything else but look at your self. Remove all the usual activities that distract you from seeing your true self, such as putting on makeup, shaving, brushing your hair, etc.

Do nothing except be with yourself. Look at yourself. Talk to yourself. Observe yourself. Listen to the chatter that goes on in your head. Pay attention to the feelings that arise. Simply observe.

It may be a difficult exercise, and some of you may not even last the entire 5 minutes, but if you stick with it, it will open your eyes as to how you truly feel about yourself.

It is only when we know what is “wrong” can we change to make it “right.”

Once you know how you truly feel about yourself, you can change it, if you want. If the thoughts you hear are mostly negative, you can work toward having more positive and healthy thoughts about yourself.

The thoughts that arise in those 5 minutes are your most dominating thoughts about yourself. They are the basis behind which you live every day. They affect your career, your relationships, your choices, your actions.

They affect your life.

Are those the kinds of thoughts you want governing your life?