Relative Reflections

The value of an occasional look into the mirror depends on our capacity to accept what is revealed. I know there are days when I come to the mirror looking for certain things and not wanting to see other things. Either extreme can cause me to see what is not really there and to miss what is staring me in the face.
There are two ways to have a poor self-image. One is to hold deep negative beliefs about yourself. These deep beliefs provide our filter for interpreting reality and guess what? "Reality," as we have misconstructed it, keeps confirming our negative ideas.
The other is to fear that something negative might be true of you. Consequently all your energy goes into maintaining a strong public persona. In this scenario "reality" always gets interpreted positively, and you always come out looking good. Except that you have just cut yourself off from any chance to learn from mistakes, enlist the help of others, relax and be human (read be imperfect).
So on the one hand, it can be a wise reality check to take an occasional look in the mirror. Unless, that is, you have found other ways to adjust what you see.