THE WAY YOU SEE YOURSELF: It transforms you and the world around you

The way you see yourself determines the kind of person you are. If you think you are a moron, you will feel and act like a moron. Thoughts are powerful. They can shape our life the way we want as well as make it all shambles. The moment you start seeing yourself as a failure is the moment you start failing, and (mind you!), ruefully also. Self-image enters into every facet of our life, touching everything we touch, think, and set eyes on or the things we create. The image you have of yourself projects itself into the world around you and to people you deal with. If you look low on yourself, you will certainly nurture a poor attitude towards people around you. It is the way you think about who you are; it matters a lot, and it might be the only tool you need to transform your life and reach self-actualization. 

The parameters through which you look at yourself matter a lot. Most of the people I have met are wont to measure their success with regard to the achievements of others. There is no better way of riding downhill than comparing yourself to others or trying to think, feel and act like them. Let others inspire you, but do not allow yourself to be swept off your path with the efforts to emulate them. People with a healthy attitude towards themselves understand that their path is unique. They accept it and walk through it with unwonted pride and unswerving conviction.

I was talking to a very beautiful woman to whom I made the compliment that she was very pretty. She smiled, and her answer was unexpected: "Yes, I know," she said and barely had the words come out than she apologized and said it was a joke. I smiled, and then told her, "It ain’t a joke. It is the way you see yourself. That is who you are, and that is the only thing that matters. I definitely like the way you see yourself." Few people see themselves as beautiful. Not everyone looks back at himself or herself and say, with some pride, "I am beautiful." And you can feel the uneasiness and the discomfort within which many people wallow, always looking for masks to hide their faces as though they were hideous creatures. Sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. If only you knew that you are not a product of chance, or an accident of nature, that you are irreparable and unique the way you came out from nature, invested with seeds of inestimable gifts and astounding potential, then you would look at yourself as a miracle of nature, the quintessence of creation itself.

A sick mind creates imbeciles, a positive mind breeds genius and those that are still filled with the spark of wonder, as you would find in kids, transform the world. One of the authors I love a lot is Henri Nouwen. In his book The Beloved, he laid stress on the fact that we are heirs of a Divine heritage; fashioned in the image of God, we are unconditionally loved by Him. Children of God! Could there be any thought as could spur sentiments of self-importance and positive outlook at life than that of feeling loved by the Father? No man or woman, born into this world is so lonesome as to feel dejected and useless. If you could look at yourself as "the Beloved of Creation", then you would recognize the potential that resides within you and the limitless possibilities that open before you. Today, you could as well go up to the mirror, and instead of searching for wrinkles or pimples, utter the words: I am beautiful, I am loved. That could be the beginning of the transformation of the world around you.