Many of us are familiar with the fairytale of Snow White. The ending of this fairytale, the ending of most Fairytales are happy. What I want to focus on regarding the snow white fairytale is the evil Step-Mother’s mirror. In the fairytale, the vain Queen asks her mirror that possesses magical powers, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” and to which the mirror would always reply, “You are.” As time goes on, as baby Snow White becomes older, the mirror’s reply changes. “Queen, you’re the fairest where you are, but Snow White is more beautiful by far.”
It is safe to say, in the real world, the mirror didn’t talk back to the Queen. The Queen wasn’t handling her self-reflection very well. The Queen wasn’t accepting the changes happening with her physical appearance and mental state of mind. The Queen was in denial of where she was in her life. Denial can lead to self-destruction of mind, body and spirit. Many persons today refuse to do self-reflection.
Comfort zones are appealing to many people. We all can go to a place where we tell ourselves what we want to hear but in reality what we want to hear and what we see can be very different. I am a believer in self-reflection. It gives you that one on one moment with self. It is so easy to cross-examine others but not so easy to cross-examine ourselves. I would like to share with you how I self-reflect, which brings about positive results.
1. Love of self. I love myself, quirks and all. Perfection is not who I am but a work in progress best describes me. I am not setting myself up for failure. I understand there will be trials in this life I am living, so I am equipt with self love to handle what comes my way.
2. Examining my relationships personally and professionally. I ask myself many questions during this examination of self. How did I treat this person? How did I handle that situation? Am I too self-absorbed? This is an humbling experience when you are being totally honest with yourself.
3. Examining where I am in my life personally and professionally. Have I met goals I made for myself? Are my goals realistic? Do I need help from others to succeed in my goals? What changes have I noticed about myself? How do I feel about those changes? How do I feel about where I am in life? This examination helps brings clarity to your life.
4. Forgiving Self, Accepting Self, and Moving Forward in life. This is pretty much self explanatory.
Another name I call Self-Reflection, is ‘Cleaning House’. When dust builds up in a home it is not appealing. Once your home is clean, it is appealing again. Be a breath of fresh air for self first and then your inner light will radiate outward. As a public figure, public speaker, and a role model to some, I make sure my life living isn’t a reflection of negativity. I live the life in private that I display in public.
I encourage you to regularly do self-reflection. Make it a part of your lifestyle. Doing so will bring great results in your personal and professional life. You will handle situations that arise with a calm demeanor, you never knew existed. The mind, body and spirit will be in sync and this only makes a better best you. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? If you have truly self-reflected, you are the fairest of your all. Your all is self and the life you lead. This has been your Snow White moment.