Confidence, self image, diet, style, & social media.
These are 5 things everyone everywhere struggles with daily. Whether it is confidence to ask your boss that question, how you look at yourself in the mirror, how healthy you eat with only $5 in your pocket, the outfit you chose to wear, or the selfie you just posted that was photobombed by that guy in the back.
The fact is you will struggle with at least 3 of these topics today, but what happens when that struggle is attacked by a stranger via social media? We have all seen them, the posts about the obese man blocking someone’s view at a baseball game. The bearded man wearing sunglasses so he must be up to something. The woman who wore tights as pants but really shouldn’t have. The mother yelling at her child in the store and is labeled as a bad mom. It happens all the time, a stranger snaps a pic and freezes that moment in time with a commentary of their choosing. They get likes, shares, comments, and the person they snapped…? Well their day goes downhill, depression sets in, and in some cases lives are destroyed.
Why point this all out to you? Because together we can turn this epidemic around and make this negative impact into a positive one.
First, let me tell you a story:
A woman patiently stands in line at a local coffee shop. She looks to her right at the window, watching the reflection of all the other customers in the store. She pauses and smiles as she admires her dress that is covered in sunflowers, she had worked many hours of overtime to finally purchase it. She feels like the prettiest woman in the room. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a young man smiling in the direction of the window with a phone in his hand looking as if he is snapping a picture. As he and his friend smile and snicker at the photo, her feelings quickly change….she looks up again at her reflection noticing her bright red hair, her body covered in freckles, and even more her weight. She has always been overweight and was constantly teased in school. Of course now as a woman she is more confident but being made fun of still hurts.
She sees the man show the phone to a skinny blonde haired woman and she smiles as she says loudly, “Post it. It’s perfect!” then looks in her direction again grinning ear to ear. The woman who only a few moments ago felt so pretty, now feels like the ugliest woman in the room. The cashier asks the woman for her order but the she is so hurt, so terrified of what they posted that she burst into tears and quickly runs into the bathroom to hide.
After a while the woman quietly walks out of the shop trying to continue her day, only to walk with her head down in shame. She just wants to sink into a hole as her memories flood back of being teased in school. She walks to the bus stop and notices people smiling and staring at her as she walks by. She doesn’t take out her phone for fear that the picture and the words will be too much to bear.
When she sits on the bus, an older woman walks over to her and says, “You have brightened my day.” The woman in the sunflower dress replies, “You wouldn’t say that if it were you being body shamed.”
The older woman looks confused, “Body shamed?” The older woman takes out her phone and hands it to her. The photo shows her standing in front of the window smiling happily at her reflection with the caption, “I wish every woman in the world feels as beautiful as this woman does today, because YOU are.”
The woman feels overwhelmed with emotion as she smiles, laughs, and cries all at once. “I thought they were posting something mean.”
The woman says, “Oh honey, not everyone is a mean. It’s time to stand up to those the bullies. Every woman is beautiful.”
Do you understand what I mean? Not only has this epidemic hurt people but now we instantly think the worst when we see someone snapping a picture of us. We can change that mentality and we will start today.
Impact Challenge
This week I want you to snap a photo of a friend, co-worker, or stranger and post something POSITIVE about them. Let them know how great they look, tell them what a great person they are and surprise them. Make sure to include the hashtag #ImpactSnap when posting.
I look forward to seeing your snaps and sharing them.
