My significant other is always talking about "liking who he sees in the mirror" when evaluating his life. I know a lot of people also think that way. Up until recently I felt that way as well. Just what does it mean to like what you see in the mirror? What do you see when you look in the mirror?
When I lost my hair, I began to hate mirrors. What I saw in them was not me. It was very difficult for me to see the drastic change in my reflection. I started avoiding mirrors altogether. For 51 years I had looked at myself and seen "Karen". Now I didn't know who I was seeing. There was a stranger looking back at me. Everything I thought I was had gotten tied up in what I saw in my reflection.
In the course of developing a distain for mirrors, something very interesting occurred. I was forced to look inside myself more to see who I was. I rediscovered who "Karen" really was. I wasn't my reflection. I wasn't the physical image I had worked to create. What I have found is the strong, self-confident, caring person I always knew I was. I'm actually even stronger than I ever thought I was.
This past Spring I made the decision to rid myself of my wigs. I started wearing them when the hairloss was so apparent that I needed to cover it up. I hated the wigs because they were artificial and simply not me, but I thought they made me feel better about the change in my appearance. However, the wigs became a crutch that allowed me to hide from my reflection.
Getting rid of the wig was very liberating. It helped that my friends and family have been so supportive, but the bottom line is I feel good about myself. Don't get me wrong, I would love to wake up in the morning and have all my hair back, but whatever happens, nothing changes the woman I am, which gets me to the Magic Pill.
Over the course of losing my hair I tried various natural, chemical, and medical remedies to grow my hair back. None of them worked, but I was always hoping for that Magic Pill. So many people have illnesses that they hope can be cured by that Magic Pill(s) yet so many of people's illnesses can be corrected by changes in lifestyle.
We all have our Magic Pill, but it isn't what you think it is...most people are unwilling to find the self-discipline. The true Magic Pill is our will. Our will to stop smoking. Our will to cut back on alcohol consumption. Our will to exercise. Our will to stay away from fast foods, fried foods, cakes, candies, pops, and on and on.
You can live without butter. You can live without sugar. You can live bad fats.
When I talk to people about the lifestyle changes I've made as it relates to my eating, I often get the response, "I can't do that!" I tell them exactly what I used to tell my kids, "Can't just means you haven't tried hard enough."
Any major change in a life habit is hard...in the beginning, but as you start to have more energy, notice the weight coming off, and seeing a change in your skin, hair, and bowel habits, you will know it is well worth it.
So if you want to stop making the doctors and drug companies rich, make the effort to find your own Magic Pill...it has been inside you all along.
