October 16, 2025
Most people would rather stare directly at the sun than look in the mirror. That’s today’s Thought of the Day, and it pairs perfectly with the Question of the Day: What do you think your nightmares are trying to tell you?
Both hit close to home because they force us to confront what we usually run from, ourselves. This post digs into what it means to face your reflection (literal and figurative), why our dreams drag us through the mud, and how both might just be trying to teach us something if we’d stop squinting long enough to see clearly.
Thought of the Day:
“Most people would rather stare directly at the sun than look in the mirror.”
Let’s be honest: mirrors are brutal. They show us everything, the wrinkles we pretend aren’t there, the exhaustion we try to caffeinate away, and the disappointment that sometimes looks back when we think, I should be further along by now.
But it’s not really the mirror we avoid, it’s the truth hiding behind it. The version of ourselves we know we could be if we stopped making excuses. The parts we hide under productivity, perfectionism, or busyness.
I’ve noticed that the days I least want to look at myself, really look, are the ones where I’m not living in alignment. Maybe I said yes when I should’ve said no. Maybe I avoided something important. Maybe I’m just tired of pretending everything’s fine when it’s not.
Avoiding the mirror is easier. But there’s freedom in facing it. It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid you’ve been wearing for years, you finally see the wound, and you realize it’s already healing.
If this thought hit you, check out It’s our job to understand It dives deeper into how perspective, not pain, shapes what we see.
Question of the Day:
“What do you think your nightmares are trying to tell you?”
Nightmares are funny things. Not “ha ha” funny, more like “why am I running in slow motion from a shadow wearing my old high school uniform?” kind of funny.
Most people think nightmares are just fear on overdrive, but I think they’re communication. They’re the brain’s way of waving a red flag when something in your waking life is off.
Maybe the monster chasing you isn’t a monster at all, it’s your unspoken guilt, your ignored ambition, or your inner voice yelling, “Hey, pay attention!” Nightmares are mirrors too, just darker ones.
When I was a kid, I had a recurring nightmare about being lost in a maze that kept resetting. Every time I thought I’d found my way out, I’d turn a corner and end up back at the start. I used to wake up in a cold sweat, terrified. But looking back, it always came during times when I felt stuck, like when life was changing faster than I could keep up.
Sometimes your subconscious is less poetic than prophetic. It’s saying, “You feel trapped. Do something about it.”
If this resonates, you might also like the dreams you’re afraid to have That one explores how fear doesn’t haunt us, it protects us, if we listen.
The Mirror and the Dream
When you put both the Thought and the Question together, they point toward the same truth: the things we run from, whether reflections or dreams, aren’t there to hurt us. They’re there to help us heal.
Mirrors show us who we are. Nightmares show us what we’re avoiding. And both are invitations to stop looking away.
So maybe tomorrow morning, before the coffee kicks in, take a moment in front of the mirror. Don’t fix your hair. Don’t adjust your expression. Just look. And if the reflection feels like a nightmares, ask it what it’s trying to tell you.
💬 Your Turn
What’s something your nightmares—or your reflection—have been trying to tell you lately? Drop it in the comments. Or, if you’d rather keep it private, join our free daily email where these questions show up every morning to help you think, reflect, and grow.
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