Welcome to the Daily Quote, the podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, and this episode is brought to you by the Great News podcast. Because great news should be heard, and the link is right here in the show notes.
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Today’s quote is from Jacques Lacan.
Jacques Lacan (1901–1981) was a French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst whose work profoundly influenced psychology, philosophy, literary theory, and cultural studies. He is particularly known for his ideas about the mirror stage which is a concept exploring how our sense of identity develops through recognizing ourselves in a reflection and through the perceptions of others. His work was influential, but also complex and sometimes controversial.
Jacques Lacan once said…
“All sorts of things in this world behave like mirrors.”
Source: The Seminar of Jacques Lacan, Book II: The Ego in Freud’s Theory and in the Technique of Psychoanalysis (1954–1955).
This is an interesting idea.
The quote suggests that our identity doesn’t come from our genetics or 100% from within us. But rather we discover who we are based on the reflections we see from the many mirrors in our world.
And we don’t only discover who we are but we also become who we are through the reflections the world returns to us. If a child is told they are “the responsible one” they may internalize that reflected character trait and become the responsible one.
Lacan believed that we develop an “I” partly by seeing ourselves reflected back, first in actual mirror (when we are infants) and then in how our parents, friends, lovers, strangers and society responds to us.
A person’s speech, facial expression, posture, or mood can function as a mirror: it gives us an image of how we appear from another perspective.
Lacan’s mirrors include:
- A literal reflection.
- Another person’s approval, anger, attention, or indifference.
- Social roles, norms, and expectations.
- The words used to describe us.
- Art, media, and cultural ideals.
So the next time someone or something provokes a strong reaction in you, take a moment before responding. Ask yourself… why does this bother me? What does my reaction tell me about myself?
Sometimes the most valuable lessons we learn about ourselves come from looking at the world around us a little differently. If we are conscious of the mirrors maybe we can be more aware of how they are shaping us.
So here’s the question:
As you go about your day today, look out for the reflections of yourself you see or hear. Are they a reflection of who you want to be? If not then maybe looking at the world a little differently may help adjust the mirrors so you can get some more desirable reflections!
That’s going to do it for today. I’m Andrew McGivern signing off for now, but I’ll be back… tomorrow! Same pod time, same pod station with another Daily Quote.
