In the room where I get dressed, there stands a full length mirror. At first glance, it looks like any other mirror, but it’s not. It’s actually a “skinny mirror”, or at least that’s what I call it because something about the way it’s constructed makes me look at least five pounds thinner than I am. I consider this a good thing.
Even though I clearly realize that what I am seeing is an optical illusion, choosing to adopt the perspective of my slightly more slender reflection makes me feel good about how I look.
That feeling stays with me. When I leave home, I am a bit more positive and confident about dealing with the world. I do not actively think about or remember the origin of my good attitude.
However, on occasion, I do encounter other full length mirrors in my travels. Then I am reminded, and as such I try to avoid looking at myself in them. If I do see my reflection and don’t like it, I just tell myself it must just be a “fat” mirror.
I really am a believer in the value that trying on different perspectives offers, for so many reasons. In the case of my mirror, some people tell me I am just fooling myself. Perhaps. For me, my mirror simply offers me an easy alternate perspective.
Choosing to accept seeing myself from that point of view gives me a more positive outlook, and with that things just seem to go better. Like Wayne Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” The way I see it, I change.