On the wall of my friends office hung a princess mirror.  It wasn’t just any princess mirror, it was a Disney princess mirror that talked to you when you looked into the mirror, stating things like “that color looks lovely on you” and “you are so pretty”. It had to be my FAVORITE mirror ever! I recall standing in front of her mirror one day, listening to it compliment me thinking to myself, “Everyone needs a princess mirror!”

We all have our bad days and our tough days and there is never really any day that we wouldn’t benefit from having a princess mirror tell us that we are awesome and gorgeous and wonderful and loved. I have never met anyone who DOESN’T need to hear that from others. We all need moral support. We all need someone to tell us we are fabulous and needed. And frankly I think most of us don’t get to hear it enough. We all get so busy with our own lives that we don’t stop to tell it to other people and they don’t stop to tell it to us. Yet, we all need it and we could all use that pick me up every day.

Why should you go out of your way to encourage someone else?

“Note how good you feel after you have encouraged someone else. No other argument is necessary to suggest that never miss the opportunity to give encouragement.”–George Adams

What impact can you have when you encourage someone else?

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” –William Arthur Ward

When does encouragement matter the most?

“A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success.” –Unknown Author

How can encouraging someone bring out their best?

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being.” –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Now I share all of that with you so we can all remember how important it is to encourage those around us, but in addition to that I think we all need remember to apply the same philosophy for how we treat ourselves.  If we treat ourselves like we are what we ought to be then we will help ourselves become what we are capable of being!!! We need to be our own princess mirror that tells the reflection it sees in the mirror “YOU ARE GORGEOUS!” “You are worthwhile” “You are a good person” “You are destined for greatness” “You are needed, you are valued, and you make a difference for the better in this world” We need to be our own biggest cheerleader.

God loves and values every one of us equally and we all have special gifts and talents that we brought into this world to help make it a better place. That makes you special and that makes you beautiful and that makes you important. Believe in yourself. And most important, ENCOURAGE YOURSELF! And when you look in your mirror and say “Mirror, mirror on the wall….make sure it says back to you that YOU ARE GORGEOUS! INSIDE AND OUT! And then go out into the world and be just that.