The lens of another
Seeing and believing yourself through someone else's eyes
Life can be a lonely pursuit.
When the echo chamber of your mind is the only voice in the room, it’s much easier to dwell on mistakes than it is to positively reinforce the 95% of the time that you’re a capable adult.
When my powers of persuasion and positivity don’t work on myself, I’m grateful that I have people who see my strength and possibility and reflect these back to me. They see a whole, complicated person and double down on the good bits. The pieces that help them find more joy or understanding in their own lives. Pieces that I might not see if it weren’t for their mirror.
It’s a luxury to have friends like that, and the real power in this connection is realizing that you have the ability to do the same for them. You’re probably already doing it, and your confidence in them is contagious.
Life can be a lonely pursuit, but if you let in a few of the right people and take them at their word, you’ll see it a bit clearer.