Loving yourself can feel so foreign to so many people and the act of looking at yourself in the mirror can become a chore. But here's the thing, being able to look at yourself in the mirror and love the person you see looking back at you will have many great results, including a greater sense of self-love and confidence in all aspects of your life.
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Let's be honest, we hate looking at ourselves in the mirror
There is no doubt that looking in the mirror every day can be a real drag. You see yourself, you don't like what you see…and you feel like there's not much you can do about it. Many people avoid this chore at all costs, since they don't want to work up the nerve to look at their reflection. Others just find the whole situation a little bit uncomfortable.
Why did this start?
There can be many reasons why this happens, some people have body dysmorphia, fear of our own appearance, or a distorted perception of our true beauty. It could also be a result of an earlier trauma related to your looks - perhaps seeing your mother staring at herself in the mirror when you were still young, and having to put up with her comments about how unattractive she looked. Or maybe you were teased as a child and developed a negative perspective on your appearance from an early age. Whatever the reason for your aversion to looking in the mirror, it can be difficult to overcome.
It's more common than you think
But here's the thing, it isn't just you alone here. In fact, 1 in 50 people have clinically diagnosed body dysmorphia, so you can only imagine how many people have a less intense aversion to staring at themselves in the mirror. The good news is that there are many ways to help you overcome this fear or disorder due to the need for such research. In fact, the method I have for you has been proven to work as it helps change your mindset from self loathing to self love.
Let's take the leap together
Drum roll please... It's time to take that step and conquer your fear of looking in the mirror. It may start out as scary, but I promise you it will be beneficial. Your exercise for today is to look at yourself naked in the mirror for 5 full minutes. To make sure you do 5 full minutes, set your phone timer to 5 minutes. Take in your entire self, every lump and bump that you think is unflattering. To make sure you actually to do this first step, go ahead and do your task for the day, and only read on once your 5 minutes is up.
Step 2 - Don't be scared away
Now that you've done that, you can go about your day. Easy as that. Your next task comes tomorrow, and it's a rather easy step. So easy in fact, that you've already completed it once, merely seconds ago! That's right, your task tomorrow is to set your timer again and look at yourself in the mirror for another 5 minutes.
But I feel more self Conscious now
Ah yes, exactly how I felt and somewhat expected you to feel, and the reason for that is you have just confronted all the flaws you see in yourself and had to think them to yourself. Sometimes our mind can be out worst enemy, but if you stick with this exercise, your mind will be your best friend.
Step 3 - Day 3
For your next task, you probably guessed it. It's the exact same thing the next day again. In fact, there's only really one step in this whole method, and that is to set a 5 minute timer and look at yourself naked in the mirror. The results can vary on when you feel the benefit, it could be as little as 3 days, maybe 5 days, or if you're like me, it took me about two weeks to fully change my thinking.
What can I expect if i do this?
There are various ways this exercise can help you, you may feel more confident in your day to day life, you may feel more comfortable being intimate with someone, or you may experience more love for yourself. No matter what results you find, just know that I am so proud of you facing this fear.
Wanting some more encouragement? Here are some things people have said about themselves after this task:
-Damn, that girl in the mirror has some fine thighs
-My husband was right, I do have a great figure
-If this body was on anyone else, I would love how she looked. Well, I guess I have to love how I look now
-Excuse me... but who else's booty is as juicy as that girls' staring back at me?
I did it for a day and stopped
I get it, this exercise is confronting. You are exposing your mind to all your dark thoughts about your flaws, the emotions that leads to can be very daunting, but believe me that it really is worth it. So I encourage you to try again, but maybe this time set a timer for 2 minutes for the first few days until you finally see something about yourself that you love.
all good things take time
Remember that results probably won't show their faces straight away. You may even get the little green monster called jealousy poking it's head out for the first few days once you've done this task, but the benefits you feel from it will last a lifetime, if you let them.
*This post is a copy of the original blog post found here
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