I’m a huge fan of YouTube and recently I came across an interesting video in the genre of self-help, or maybe more accurately, self-motivation. In this video, Quazi Johir speaks about the Mirror Principal. I’d never heard of the Mirror Principal but I could see that, when combined with affirmations, real forward movement, or what he aptly called, ‘identity shifting,’ becomes infinitely easier. Mirror Principle is broadly defined by the idea that who we are is reflected by what we do. We become what is ‘mirrored’ back to us, and this is based on what we do as individuals, who we interact with, and even the culture we live in. But the key in his video is that we can reimagine vignettes of ourselves from our own past as a ‘mirror.’
As we set goals for ourselves we have to ”see” ourselves as someone who has the ability to attain these goals.
This is where the general idea of affirmations comes in. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, you tell yourself (affirmation), ‘I can run a marathon’ or something along those lines, but let’s face it—there’s that little internal voice to deal with. You know what I mean—the negative one that says ‘Bullshit’ to all of your dreams. Maybe it’s telling you you’re too old, too out of shape—it’s too late to try—like a surly teen, it says, ‘you look stupid’ every time you don your running gear. That negative voice has a literal universe of ‘why this is a bad idea’ to choose from and you only have the affirmation, ”I can do hard things”–the leverage is definitely on the negative. It’s like the worst version of yourself is sitting behind the scenes eating BonBon’s and playing with your mind like an old-timey switchboard operator–what’s worse is they’re laughing at you and your dumb shoes and sweatband the whole way. No wonder you can barely get off the couch, it’s like you’re being bullied from within.
One thing this video made absolutely clear is that you must have something to stand against this voice.
Mirror Principle claims that your mind acts on what is ”mirrored” back to it–if all you hear are the reasons why you cannot do something then that will affect how you move forward in life and before you know it, you’ve whittled your life and self to match that negative voice in your head. This belief is not new to Mirror Principle—it’s a common premise of many mindset theories, essentially ‘what you focus on, will become true.’ If you continue to focus on the wrong path—often the one you most fear—you’ll end up inadvertently walking that path. It’s the stuff dystopian horror films are made from and no one wants that. I imagined this to be a fork in the road where you’re torn between this old path that involves the you that never evolves. According to your negative voice, this is the only path you’re really made for, it’s steadfast and true. Taking the chance on a new path means potentially risking all. What’s worse, is that this fear mentality is not unfounded. We’ve evolved to stick with the tried and true— after all it’s what’s kept us alive up until now, right? Unfortunately, though, this acceptance of the status quo tends to permeate every aspect of our lives, leading us to forgo our dreams.
In order for your affirmation to take hold, you must give it proof against the naysayer in your head.
Shifting yourself out of your rut means seeing yourself on a new path. This is like turning at the fork in the road and pointing out to yourself, ‘I remember that time I was on this path’ as you look over to the glimmering better route. Allowing yourself these glimpses puts the seed into your head that yes, you can get there. Maybe you remember a particularly good day running. As you see yourself back on that day you are mirroring that successful self. I can see me now, that time I ran 6 miles. As you’re basking in that memory you’re creating an antidote to that negative voice that holds you back. You’re proving it wrong.
Your affirmation will not work unless you also provide yourself with positive evidence that you are capable of getting to that goal.
This philosophy seems simple. In many ways, we can see that we are a product of the culture that we are immersed in. That culture is outside of us and we have little control over it. Sure we can try to make healthy friends, we can stay away from toxic influences, and we can fill our heads with motivational podcasts. We can create a little world, a buffer zone, to protect us from the unnecessary negatives of life. The problem is that a little world buffer is not going to help when someone or something breaches the barrier—or when we have to step into the real world and contend with it. For this, we need a sturdy mind. One that doesn’t need to run behind the skirts of our self-made reality. We need to hear and see what is true. We need to be able to assimilate that into our consciousness, give weight to it, and ultimately, handle it so that we can continue to evolve in a healthy manner.
After watching this video, I turned my attention to the culture that was in my own head. And, let me tell you folks, for a while it was a nasty piece of work in there. Perhaps I’d begun to notice it more and more; maybe it’s because we are in a ”moment” in a society where our mental health is under the spotlight, but things between my ears definitely needed a tuneup. It seems that no matter what I did, no matter how I tried I heard a voice in my head that said, ”that won’t work” or ”you can’t do that” or the lackadaisical, ”what’s the point?” To further the problem, I was listening to other people, hearing the judgment, listening to media, hearing the judgment. Somehow my normal sense of self-esteem began to erode. My view of my life, myself, and moreover, my habits and approaches became the subject of my own critical analysis. My own negativity was slowing me down, telling me what to do, how to do it, and overall ruining my daily experience. I started calling it names, like anxiety, even depression. Sometimes my will to live seemed like it had taken a tropical vacation–without me. It was like an extended family of crows bustling around my head, pecking at my thoughts, obscuring my view with their shiny feathers and it was relentless. I’ve never truly experienced depression, but that little window into it gave me a new understanding for those who regularly suffer from it. It’s enough to make you catatonic.
So, when I hit upon this concept that our daily actions become the mirror for how we see ourselves, I was sold. I got it. I’m not sure if you have that mean and critical voice in your head, but that’s what I had to shout down once and for all. The thought of letting go of my negative voice however, resulted in this second belief: if I let go of the Negative Nancy in my head, I won’t be motivated to do, well, anything. In other words, I held on because I thought I needed a chronic kick in the pants.
I assumed my motivation was dependent on discipline. I learned I needed positive encouragement even more.
Quazi’s video focuses on evolving as a person—and some of his goals are lofty, particularly his financial goals. To be honest, I needed this method for goals, but in the immediate moment, I just needed to get organized. Post covid brought a whiplash of surprising, borderline traumatizing issues to my family and community and to say I was sideswiped was an understatement. This method of ”identity shifting” helped me tackle a backlog of regular life stuff. I’d become a person who had trouble moving forward. But this method seemed to do the trick — I could look back and see the real me, in full color, in real situations—and in that positive light, I was getting things done. Moreover, I wasn’t bedraggled or exhausted—I was happy. As I accomplished little things and gave myself credit for them, the more I had in my quiver to mirror back to myself. My confidence was perking up and this helped me tackle more and more difficult things. It’s a snowball effect. Slowly I regained the evidence to convince myself that maybe, just maybe, this person who was struggling to get off the couch, was not in charge after all, and the memory of me could bring me back to life.