Now more than ever before, everyone deserves to be respected. Social media has opened a huge door for anyone to comment on anything to anyone, and quite frankly, it has gotten way out of hand!
Don’t want to go all kumbaya on ya’ll, yet, the 60‘s band, The Yardbirds, put it all into focus way back then and we can learn a lot about these 11 words:
“You can make the mountains ring
Or make the angels cry”
It does not matter who we are, where we come from or what we do, we owe it to ourselves and to our fellow artists to make a difference and we can begin right here in this wonderful industry of beauty that we have chosen!
We just do not understand the outpour of negativity! Why would a stylist bash a fellow stylist? Why? We are artists, not fighters! We do everything we can every day to make others feel better about themselves and look good! Why in the world would we even think about lashing out about what someone has said or done in a verbal post or about an image?
We all make choices everyday. We can choose to react or not, it’s that simple! Think about the worst service you performed on a client in the salon. It may have been a disaster, yet, I will bet the other stylists in the salon did not come running over to you in front of your client and bash your work. They probably gave you some very constructive advice on how you could overcome the learning experience for next time, after the client left, right? There is great power when individuals working together as a team come together to help out a fellow stylist to turn the tables on an unpleasant situation.
The first amendment gives us the right to say whatever we want, yet, does that mean we need to hurt others with words? Negativity can be crushed and we all own the power within ourselves to overcome; it’s about choices.
Everyone deserves to be valued and appreciated. If you don’t like something you see, you have the choice of hitting the dislike button or replying with a bash.
Optimism opens us up! Think about the positivity of an image or comment and how you could offer a few words of encouragement or praise. You just might find others jumping in and following your lead!
Ask yourself these questions:
Will what I post matter in 2 weeks or 2 years?
Do I care if I hurt others with my words?
‘Sticks and stones will my break bones but names will never hurt me.” Easy for some of us to say! What about those who may not yet have that level of confidence in their work? - a student, a new stylist just beginning their career. A passive stylist still trying to come into their own may post an image looking for feedback. What do you think a negative post would do to their self-esteem? Wouldn’t it be great to view a ‘thank you’ in the reply from the poster? Wouldn’t it be great to feel the love back from the poster, and to know that you may have made their day? Wouldn’t that automatically make YOU happy?
Let’s be grateful for this wonderful world of beauty we are all blessed to be part of, every day! Let’s commit to spreading positivity into our social posts. Let’s commit to being kind and respectful to our peers. Let’s commit to offer advise that will boost confidence. Let’s just be there, be present, listen and learn. If we can do that, my friends, we stay true to this industry and we make the world a better place one day at a time!
#ArtistsSupportingArtists
Sam
[Image courtesy of Sam Villa]
