Reflections

My last post was about reflections making us see things differently. Today, after being in an all-day professional development session at work, I am again thinking about reflections. In the context of a group, often the reflections we are faced with come in the form of feedback from others. People will provide us with the ability to see things in a new or different way if we are willing to open our minds to a perspective that is different than our own.

I wonder, though, if we get feedback that is akin to standing in a 360 degree mirror, how we can fail to see parts of ourselves that are being reflected clearly? It's kind of like a woman asking, "Do these pants make my butt look fat?" and being given the reflection showing the answer to that question and refusing to believe what she sees. Maybe the answer is yes, maybe it's no; either way she chooses to cling to her own perception despite evidence to the contrary.

Sometimes the truth is hard to process, especially if what is being reflected to us is far different  from how we see ourselves. Instead of choosing to say the mirror (read feedback) is wrong, maybe we should step back, look at the mirror again, and if need be, get out the window cleaner to better see the reflection in front of us. And if we still don't believe what we see, perhaps it is time to look in another mirror, and another, to see if the reflection (read feedback) is the same. Doing so can only help us improve our relationships because it means we are willing to see ourselves as others see us.

I imagine members of my work group will all be spending time thinking about the feedback that was given today, looking in the mirrors that were graciously provided, with some wondering what's wrong with the mirrors. Hopefully if the reflection was not what we expected to see, we will all take time to consider it carefully to learn more about ourselves. As for me, I am headed off in search of the Windex.