When I first realized I could change whatever belief I had about myself just by changing my thoughts about it, well I got pretty excited I must tell you.
What if I told you that a belief is just a thought you keep thinking. The stronger your belief is, the more likely you have been thinking that thought for a very long time.
It’s true! Whatever you are telling yourself about yourself, or anything in your reality for that matter, is really just a thought you’ve spent so much time thinking, you have thought it into a belief.
For example, as a child I had a belief that I wasn’t pretty enough. My sisters were pretty, my mom was pretty, pretty people were all around me, I just thought I wasn’t one of them. Someone once said something negative to me. It stuck, and I spent many years just thinking it was true until one day I realized I really believed it. I had given so much attention to all the things about myself I didn’t like that they grew. They grew so big in my awareness that I could see nothing else.
Then, years later, I became an avid reader of Louise Hay. She explains about “mirror work” and how it can change your life by applying techniques that show you how to see yourself as the loving, beautiful person you are. I thought, “Okay, it’s free, there’s no accountability, I’ll give it a try.”
First let me say that that day changed my life. After doing the work for several weeks I realized I was liking things about myself. Things I hadn’t noticed before. Things that I didn’t like were less in my awareness. I had actually proved to myself that it is not only possible to see myself positively, but all those negative things I was saying to myself about myself weren’t even true. Just a side note: Saying negative things to yourself about yourself is likely the worst thing you can do. I’ll go over that next week.
I used the following method in my workshop years ago and I use it with my children. It’s simple, effective, and you will see your beliefs about yourself transform.
Give yourself a minimum of 10 uninterrupted minutes.
Stand in front of a mirror, full length is best.
Pick one of your features that you love. (If you can’t find one feature you love, be grateful for your eyes that allow you to see, or your ears that allow you to hear…)
Once you’ve chosen your feature look at it, bless it.
Give 100% of your attention to it.
If your eye goes somewhere else and you like it, then bless it too and give it your attention as well.
Do not allow your attention to go anywhere you don’t like.
Notice how it makes you feel to look at what you love.
Notice what changes you feel during the day. Do you feel generally better about yourself? Do you feel basically the same? However you feel, get a notebook or journal and write it down.
Do this exercise every day. Write down how you feel every day. Notice how more and more positive aspects about yourself show up every day.
Notice how more and more positive aspects about yourself are being brought into your awareness. Begin noticing that you are loving parts of you, parts you hadn’t been giving any attention to. Notice that you are loving more and more of yourself. Talk to yourself, tell yourself how amazing, smart, and beautiful you are. It sounds silly and you may feel silly at first, but soon you will reap the benefits of this work and begin changing your thoughts about yourself. Before you know it, you will have a solid basis of the beauty you possess and will have begun the process of transforming your beliefs about yourself.
I invite you to give it a try. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments box below.
Finally, remember once you have self-love you will own the key to true happiness.