Where does it come from? As per my usual approach I just googled ‘self image distortion in a mirror’ to try and find an image to accompany my blog. It all centered around body image, which is understandable as I used the word mirror. But how we see ourselves is 100% driven by our mind/ego. It’s not just the physical that we have a distorted view of, it’s who we think we are as people. Pretty much our core beliefs. I’ve probably written about it before come to think of it but it’s an ongoing thought about where it comes from and how to unpick it.
Our view is our perception which isn’t the actual truth. I know most of us (if we’re honest with ourselves) have a negative view of ourselves, it’s where the saying ‘we’re our own worst critic’ comes from. We don’t give ourselves grace or any leeway to make mistakes. We are self critical and self judgemental. Why? At what point do we change and absorb (believe) the lies that we’re told. The sources would be parents, teachers, society, media, social media, peers but why do we give it so much power and lose who we truly are?
I don’t mind admitting that I have insecurities and confidence issues at times. I’ve changed alot but I still have triggers that take me back to certain points in my life. There would have been a decision at that point to either believe it or not, and following on from that, the replaying over and over again of the scenario. This makes it much bigger than it was and possibly why it’s so hard to undo.
I guess, going forward, the trick is to not replay events and accept them as a one off, not defining who we are as people.
We see the world as we are, not how it is. This goes back to perception, everything we have experienced has led to our beliefs, which in turn distorts how we see things.
Wouldn’t it be great to get back to the ‘actual’ truth and not what our egos have created!? I’ve no answer to the ‘How?’, I’m just trying to understand how it all starts and how to then begin to undo the lies that we’ve allowed to become our truths.
My Inner Self 