I want everyone to take a second out of his or her morning routine and smile. It doesn’t have to be genuine, and it doesn’t have to require any thought. Just do it.
We go through our usual routine every morning and night. We get changed, brush our teeth, and wash our faces. During the day we may need to wash our hands, or sometimes we just need to brush our hair, or make sure there is nothing in our teeth. We do this in front of a mirror, giving our reflection no more thought than what it is. Our reflection is our reflection. That’s it. We do so many things in front of it, but the only time we stop and stare into what we are is when we judge ourselves. There’s a pimple, our skin is dry, or we just look bad. We see all the imperfections on us, digging into so much more than our exterior. We bully ourselves until our interiors break, judging our own faces harder than the people who actually see us.
We sometimes stand in front of the mirror and cry, telling ourselves to stop because we look stupid. Sometimes we get mad at our reflection because we think we are not good looking enough. We think we aren't good enough. We tear ourselves down. We beat up our own reflections. We use all this negativity without truly looking at ourselves.
So I have a challenge for everyone. For one second a day -- during your routine, when you are fixing your hair, or when you are just passing by -- look into the mirror. Look into your own eyes, take in your cheeks, nose, lips, chin, and smile. You don’t need to think anything when you do it. If you smile, your reflection will get a little break. You will get a break.
It’s a way to start your day. Get up, and in your bed-mused glory, smile. You look silly, so maybe you will laugh. You won’t be thinking about how bad you look. Do it after you are ready, maybe, because you look so much better and you are proud. Do it during the day, just to get some liveliness into your stressed out face. Do it before you go to bed because you have had a hard day, and you are finally relaxed. Do it because it feels good to smile.
Do it when you are crying in front of that mirror because there is hope. There is hope for you to be happy, and even though a smile is so small, it’s a start. Smile because everyone is beautiful when he or she smiles. Your reflection will love you, and you will love yourself.
I am not forcing you to do this. If you truly want to hate your reflection, keep hating it. It's not changing, and frowning at yourself may make your reflection hate you. I am asking you to smile, because you are worth a grin. Smiling may make you feel like you are worth something too. No matter what you look like, a smile could make enough of a difference to change how you feel. It may even make you believe that you look damn good when you smile. You look damn good all the time. A smile is worth more than a frown.
