As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.

– Goethe

Why is it that some people will spend hours every week primping their external image in the mirror, but completely ignore the all-important person inside. Imagine how shabby you’d look if you didn’t shower or care for yourself in any way for a month. Well that’s exactly what happens to your self-image if you neglect it.

A car needs a tune-up. A house falls apart without maintenance. The yard will get overgrown without tending. But, we often spend more time taking care of our possessions, our friends and our family than we do caring for ourselves. Self-image not only affects the way you feel about yourself, but also the way others regard you. After all, if you lack self-confidence and have a poor self-image, why would someone else think your judgment is right? Who knows you best?

But, there’s something else. The way you feel about yourself also alters the way you see the world. This story about a farmer helps to illustrate.

This was a farmer who understood self-image. You see, we don’t view the world as it is, we see

it as we are. Even if you’re moving from one town to the next, the same problems you left behind will be there waiting at the next stop.

A poor self-image isn’t an entity unto its own that can’t be approached or improved. It’s a picture, imprinted in our subconscious mind that we have painted. And, don’t look now, but you’re holding the brush. You have the ability right now to change your self-portrait to suit yourself.

You have one advantage over everyone else in this entire world. You’re you and they’re not. Be proud of who you are. There is nobody else exactly like you. There is no such thing as an average or ordinary person. Each has strengths and distinguishing characteristics that we will never again see. Embrace what is unique about you. Develop the endless choices you have before you, choices that can turn your daily existence into a nonstop adventure. Learn to love the details; embrace the process of living, and you will have learned to love your life and yourself.

EXERCISE

JOURNAL CODE: SLF

Find five minutes for yourself. Lock yourself in the bathroom if necessary. Don’t bring your journal. Bring only yourself, stripped of everything but your bare essence. Go to the mirror. You probably look yourself over every morning. This time don’t just look. See past the skin. Look directly into the eyes of that person standing before you. With direct eye contact, it’s hard to be anything but completely honest. Ask that person you see in the mirror some very important questions. Remember the answers. Remember the moment.

Who are you?

Do I love you?

Do you love your life?

What do you stand for?

Are you the best possible person you can be?

If you could have anything in the world what would it be?