Mirror test: checking actions against values | Satish Rao | TEDxKharadi Salon
Satish Rao shares a personal story about claiming false taxi reimbursements early in his career and the profound lesson his father taught him about the 'mirror test' - looking at yourself in the mirror each night and asking if you'd be comfortable sharing your actions with someone close to you.
Summary
Satish Rao begins his TEDx talk by proposing that mirrors can serve a deeper purpose than just checking appearance - they can help set the tone for life and navigate difficult situations. He shares an embarrassing personal story from three decades ago when he was a fresh management graduate at his first job in Mumbai. His company offered taxi fare reimbursement for 30 days, but instead of taking taxis, he and his friend traveled by train (costing 2 rupees) while claiming taxi fare (80 rupees), pocketing about 150 rupees daily. After a month, when excitedly telling his father about his new job, he mentioned this 'clever' scheme. His father's reaction was immediate disapproval, asking if Rao could share this story with his company's finance manager or HR head. When Rao admitted he couldn't, his father introduced him to what Rao now calls the 'mirror test' - looking at yourself in the mirror before bed each night and asking whether you'd be comfortable sharing your day's actions with someone close to you. His father emphasized that if you can't answer yes, you don't have the right to live as a human being the next day. Rao concludes by reflecting on the profound wisdom of this simple test, noting that while your best character shows in public, your true character is revealed when nobody is watching, and that every action leaves one witness - the person you see in the mirror.
Key Insights
- Rao argues that mirrors can serve a deeper purpose beyond checking appearance - they can help set the tone for life and navigate difficult situations
- Rao reveals he and his friend exploited a company taxi reimbursement policy by traveling by train while claiming taxi fare, pocketing approximately 150 rupees daily for a month
- Rao's father taught him that nobody becomes successful in life by 'monkeying around' and challenged him to consider whether he could share his actions with company officials
- Rao's father introduced the 'mirror test' - looking at yourself in the mirror before bed and asking if you'd be comfortable sharing your day's actions with someone close to you
- Rao claims that while your best character shows in public with others, your true character is revealed when nobody is watching you
Topics
Transcript
[0:06] Let me begin this session by asking a very simple straightforward question. Why do you use mirror in your daily life or what do you use it for? I'm sure the normal answer would be yeah I use it to comb my hair. I use it to have one quick look before I step out of the house. Yeah, that's pretty standard. But what if I tell you that the same mirror can help you set the tone for your life? The same mirror can help you navigate through difficult situations in life. [0:39] Pretty intriguing, isn't it? Let me tell you in the next few minutes what I mean by this. And I'm going to explain this to…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from TEDx Talks
The human who doesn't exist | Bill Ovenden | TEDxBrisbane
Bill Ovenden argues that behavior change fails not due to lack of motivation but because systems are poorly designed for real humans. By removing friction—small barriers that disproportionately impact behavior—through thoughtful design choices, people naturally follow through on good intentions without requiring additional willpower or discipline.
What's Really Hiding in Our Oceans | Claire Potter | TEDxUniversity of Sussex
Claire Potter, a designer and marine plastic researcher, explains the scale and complexity of ocean plastic pollution, discussing how plastic enters oceans through various sources, persists indefinitely, and bioaccumulates toxins throughout the food chain. She argues that solving this crisis requires a circular economy approach combining global legislation, system design, and long-lasting products rather than relying solely on recovery efforts.
We Thought We Were Creating Jobs: The Power of Inclusion at Work | Julie Agashiwala | TEDxRiverdale
Julie Agashiwala describes how Café Joyeux, a coffee shop chain founded in 2017, employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in customer-facing roles. Beyond creating employment, the initiative transforms the lives of employees, their families, supervisors, and customers by shifting societal perceptions about disability and human potential.
Stillness: Permission to Stop | Idília Ramos | TEDxPraça Gil Eanes
Idília Ramos shares her personal journey from a childhood shaped by Portuguese dictatorship to burnout as a high achiever, arguing that modern society's worship of constant motion is harmful to mental health. She advocates for 'stillness' as a powerful form of freedom and describes her school's successful implementation of meditation and emotional learning to help children develop healthier relationships with rest and presence.
Trusting your inner wisdom | Dr. Karin Luise | TEDxJohns Creek
Dr. Karin Luise discusses how the body provides signals about alignment and misalignment before the mind makes decisions, and argues that people suffer from disconnection from themselves rather than lack of potential. She introduces a three-question practice called "the return" to help people reconnect with their inner compass and prioritize joy and alignment.