The thoughts I’ve been sharing in classes this week are inspired by a new Ikea “Magic Mirror.” Right now the mirror is a prototype but Ikea tested it out in Britain.

Somewhat like how the fairy tale goes, the mirror talks to you and compliments you. As part of Ikea’s test run, they decided to conduct a Dove-like experiment to see how people reacted to what they saw in the mirror. The mirror asked, “Do you like what you see?” and then people answered along a sliding scale of “eh, not so hot” to “feeling hot.” What they discovered is what we’ve all been battling——ourselves and being so overly critical and judgmental of ourselves—saying they were not happy with what they saw.

This reminds me of something I read recently—”Your best is always good enough, because it comes from you, and you are always good enough.”

How many times have you put your effort towards something to only say, “Well, I did my best” in such a settling tone as if your best wasn’t enough? If you really think about it, this self-criticism or self-judgement you place on yourself either comes from ego or the need deliver someone else’s idea of the best. It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea of trying to be the best—to look your best, be the best friend, spouse, parent, or employee. More often than not, our desire to look or be the best is based on someone else’s vision of success.

Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve, but you really have to look deep to see what is driving that. If you let go of that tendency to live up to other people’s standards and let go of the need to compete and win, it doesn’t mean that you’re not doing the best job you can. Rather, it means you’re fulfilling your OWN potential and staying true to yourself and your own purpose, regardless of how other’s perceive you or the outcome.

So whether its on the mat, off the mat, in front of the mirror (talking or not), how you look, what you do, quit short-changing yourself & remind yourself:

“Your best is ALWAYS good enough, because it comes from you, and you are ALWAYS good enough.”