The term “Looking Hard” is typically used when someone is sizing you up and thinking about whether or not they could take you in a contest, competition, sport, or even fight. Years ago, one of our mentors coached our team on a technique of undressing in front of the mirror and looking “hard” at ourselves. This grading method is vital to everyone’s self-improvement because we must constantly evaluate where we are at in life to strive for self-perfection.
Using the “Mirror Technique” is as simple as looking at what we like and don’t like about ourselves. This personal assessment or inventory is ours and ours alone. That means the sky is the limit on the categories for our evaluation. They can be as simple as grading ourselves on how we look, think, or feel, as well as looking at our advancement in skills, attributes, and even performance towards our goals. Locating ourselves on this journey allows us to compare where we are to where we want to be. It is ok to be content with our position and achievements, just not complacent. We should want to move forward. We should want more for ourselves, but before we can have more, we must become more.
If we start by taking notice of what we have accomplished, we will have plenty of positive fuel to then turn to our failures and weaknesses and look at them in a very objective way. Bruce Lee, the founder of our system of Jeet Kune Do, or JKD, used to say you imagine yourself outside the exchange, challenge, or fight. This form of detachment is something Jocko Willink speaks of often. If we take a less emotional look at ourselves in the mirror, we can find what we should be working on to improve ourselves and the momentum to our goals.
Ultimately, we hold both the key and the lock to our potential. We typically know what is holding us back, and we know what we need to do to move forward. That means we are the only thing standing in the way to achieving everything we have ever wanted.
Consistently using the Mirror Technique allows us to know whether we are getting better every day. If we inventory, measure, record, and log everything, we can see the course we are on and adjust as we need to reach our destination promptly. Don’t be afraid to take a “hard” look in the mirror and see where you are at in your journey.
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