Perception requires tricks

I finally bought full length mirror. I did this because at 30 years old I decided that standing on a chair in front of my bathroom vanity mirror to figure out if my pants looked okay might be a bit ridiculous. Also, when I stood on this chair, in front of my vanity, most my shirt and head were cut off. So that no matter what angle I stood at I could never quite tell if my whole outfit worked together.

In early college, hell, even into my late twenties this seemed acceptable; however, I feel after a decade of not knowing what my outfits look like as a whole piece it was time to spend a couple bucks to upgrade. And I did...

I bought my full length mirror about three months ago at target for five dollars. I felt this was a real steal and was sad to realize it was cheap, because it was meant for college dormitory kids. I guess since I never stayed in the dorms I missed out on the existence of cheap mirrors – which meant I spent a decade always wondering what I look like pointlessly.

 There are several things I have learned since having this mirror:

1. If I stand close enough to see my whole outfit my head still gets cut off.
2. If I stand far enough away to see my whole outfit including my head I can not quite make out the details of the outfit; however, I get a good idea. 
3. I might need better lighting in my bedroom.  I figure I have a decade before that will matter enough to fix.
4. Lastly, and this I have found to be most important, if I stand the mirror itself up too straight my hips get wide and my body gets short. And if I lean the mirror diagonally I get taller than I ever imagined and my hips shrink. Obviously there are variations between.

On days when I forget to adjust my mirror and it stands to straight I feel depressed and even if I was just feeling powerful and happy.

Yet on days when the mirror is adjusted 'correctly' and leaning against the wall I feel great. It does not matter if someone reminded me that I can not write an email to save my life. It does not matter if I am reminded that if someone pisses me off I really over due the retribution, because I do  so divinely.

The moral of the story is perception is the entire battle, not half. Adjust your perception appropriately. This does not have to be about weight (as there is a backlash on facebook against mermaids and whales that I am trying desperately to understand).  Please feel free to apply it to whatever aspect of your perception you wish to adjust.