What do you see when you look in the mirror?
January 14, 2010
Fear?
Freckles?
Fatigue?
Or do you see FUN?!
Part of the joy of mentoring kids is that occasionally a project will come along, and you can’t resist but to hijack it and claim it as your own. Brian Chenowith, the mastermind behind this project, had a very simple aim: choose a word that best fits you and put it on the mirror as a reflection of who you really are.
The kids loved it. But I think I loved it even more.
The great thing about this project is the surface area of the mirror is small, so you can’t choose ugly words. Words like:
cynical
frustrated
depressed
sloghog
simply don’t fit. Words like:
smart
pretty
hero
big kid
stand out.
Which word would you choose?
…
FUN FACT: I once had a co-worker Chris who had a mirror positioned above his phone, which I thought particularly odd as he wasn’t a vain kind of guy. He did field several calls during the day. He explained that in the Japanese culture the customer service teams will often put a mirror above their phone as a tactic to dissuade against becoming angry or hostile even if they are being attacked. The reasoning is that once you start to become enraged, you see your face, and as I would guess: it’s not the most flattering angle. In fact, you’re embarrassed. So you back off, and lighten up. This could be really fun for later. The next time you start to lose it with your friend/lover/mother/dad, simply pull out a mirror and look at yourself. Just the act of pulling out a mirror in the middle of a fight will be enough to quell the argument and probably have you both laughing. 
I think I’d just draw a wink on my mirror! ;o)
Good article – made me smile!
When I worked in customer service for an evil corporation, we all had mirrors attached to or computer monitors to remind us to ’speak with a smile’. You can often tell when someone is smiling on the other end of the phone.
For my mirror, I’m not sure what I’d put, but what I want to put is ‘intense’ or ‘driven’. Not there yet, but still working.
Love this! I am decorating my own mirror this weekend! Wouldn’t it be great to wake up each morning and look in the bathroom mirror and see uplifting words and phrases…
Don’t worry, the wrinkles go away once you stop looking!
I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and gosh darnit- People like me! (SNL skit)
I definitely think FUN is the word that describes you! That is why I keep coming back! You always make me laugh and it actually cracks me up when I think about you looking in the mirror and talking yourself up!
Can I use FUN too?
This is difficult! I never really think something specific at the mirror. Don’t know why, but I rarely stare myself at it
Those little times tough I usually never think something bad as I tend to be optimistic by default.
Haha, cool photo Brian!
Hope things are going well with you! Have an awesome weekend with lotsa fun and happiness!
This is a great project Brian. Some short words that stand stand out for me are “kind” and “nice”. The idea with the mirror is brilliant. You can’t really stay mad while looking at yourself. I’m glad you brought this up.
When i look at the mirror, I see a good looking fellow! LOL!
This actually reminds me of a sales technique. “When you look in the mirror, make sure you are smiling!”