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Reimagining Self-Reflection
Oh The Possibilities
Sue Dhillon
January 21, 2025
Hello,
Onward to yet another week of hopeful inspiration…..
On my multi-decade journey of soul searching I have found it’s our accumulated beliefs, whispered doubts and cherished dreams that reflect back to us in those quiet moments of reflection. And that reflection is a mirror of sorts unlike the kind that hangs on a wall, it doesn’t just reflect what is, it projects what could be, what’s possible through this lens of self-perception.
Sometimes that mirror of self-reflection magnifies our limitations until our potential is eclipsed, while other times it reveals constellations of possibility we hadn’t dare mapped out.
The most incredible truth of this self-reflective mirror is that it is not fixed, but fluid. And it’s constantly responding to us about the stories we tell ourselves about our capabilities and worth.
And now here’s something truly remarkable to consider while we’re pondering this idea of self-reflection - recent research in neuro-plasticity reveals something profound: our brains physically restructure themselves based on our deeply held beliefs about who we are. When we adjust the angle of our internal mirror – even slightly – we literally reshape the neural pathways that govern our actions and choices.
Think of the last time you caught yourself saying "I'm not the kind of person who..." How did this simple phrase become the frame around your mirror? More importantly, what might you see if you gently wiped away these self-imposed boundaries?
Here's a truth worth sitting with: The most significant limits to our growth rarely come from external barriers, but from the subtle ways we've learned to look away from our own reflection when it shows us something that challenges our familiar narrative.
This week, I invite you to stand before your mirror of possibility with new eyes. Notice the habitual angles from which you view yourself. Then, with gentle curiosity, tilt that mirror just a few degrees. What fresh potential swims into view? What aspects of yourself have been waiting in the periphery, ready to step into focus?
Personal Story - Last month, I caught myself in an old pattern of thinking I "wasn't creative enough" to redesign my workspace. This familiar reflection had become so comfortable that I almost missed seeing its distortion. But when I deliberately adjusted my view – asking "what if I am creative, just in my own way?" – the mirror shifted. The result wasn't just a beautifully reimagined office, but a profound reminder that our capabilities often extend far beyond our practiced way of seeing them.
Some Of My Writing From The Archives
What I’m Reading This Week
The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt Considering the hour I’ve found myself pulled into some interesting perspective around politics and philosophy. In "The Human Condition," Arendt examines three fundamental human activities: labor (biological necessities), work (creation of artificial world), and action (political activity through speech and deed in the public sphere). She argues that modern society's focus on labor and consumption has diminished the public sphere where meaningful political action occurs. This she suggests leads to a loss to a loss of human freedom and plurality. |  |
A Look Back
Karen L. Moran offers us soul nourishment with her poetic dialect and sentimental carriage during this beautiful exchange from the podcast.
This week’s newsletter is sponsored by Quiet Mind. Learn more about them and read about my insomnia journey here and how Quiet Mind has helped me. It’s the greatest hug you didn’t know you needed. Get $20 off and help support my work with your very own Quiet Mind weighted pillow.
