“Elle, thank you for always being a consistent commenter on my Instagram posts. I know it is kind of silly, but it means so much to me to know that you will always hype me up when I post something. Even though I try not to care about likes and comments, I do.”
This was a recent conversation I had with a friend. Little did I know that my friend telling me this would inspire this very blog post to come about.
Haven’t we all been there though?! The dance of posting, trying not to care about how the post “does”, but yet still looking for likes & comments to validate how good the picture is or how we look in the picture and just all the things. I have talked with twelve year olds who have just downloaded Instagram for the first time and sixty year old women who only post photos on Facebook and it seems we all are swept up in this, regardless of age.
You see, for awhile I was solely trying hard to help the girls around me stop seeking validation from everyone else. I was also trying so hard to stop myself from seeking validation from everyone else. And while I fully believe that it is SO important that we do not look to others to define our worth (p.s.- planning a blog post all about this topic), I also believe that we are called to be the kind of friends and girls/women who cheer each other on. The kind of women who give the compliments on Instagram; who scream loud and jump up & down when something good happens to someone else; who tell other girls how beautiful they look in that dress.
And so, I am now writing a blog post about why you should take the time to cheerlead the women around you. When people ask me why I believe it is SO important to comment & like & send the encouraging text, I tell them this:
The world is going to try to tell us there isn’t enough good to go around. That we as girls must “compete” for a limited amount of beauty & brains & boys & experiences & all. the. things.
I’m here to tell you that this is a lie. There is UNLIMITED good in this world. We were each created by a God who gave us unique gifts & strengths that may look absolutely nothing like the women around us. Her beauty & her brains & her accomplishments do not in any way lessen the amount of value you have in this world, sweet friend.
And so, to combat this competition and scarcity mindset, I set out on a mission to be the most encouraging, hype-girl person to everyone around me I can possibly me. Am I perfect at it? No. Does it take time to figure out what type of encouragement specific women (& men) in your life need? Yes. But I can tell you what, it doesn’t hurt to at least try. Even though we may try to fight it, we all desire to be complimented & encouraged & rooted on by the other girls in our life.
Today I want to encourage you to encourage at least ten women in your life. Celebrate someone’s accomplishment or just shout out something you love about them on your Instagram story. Send that text message letting that girl know how INCREDIBLE she looked in that dress. Comment on that other girl’s Instagram letting her know she’s a queen. Tell your mom how FREAKING AWESOME she is doing. Maybe, just maybe, become a consistent Instagram commenter like I am. It seems small, and maybe Instagram comments don’t mean anything to you, but I can tell you what, it sure as heck means something to another girl somewhere. Maybe even your sister or mom or best friend who needs words of affirmation to feel loved. Show the world that women are here to publicly cheer each other on, not to tear each other down.
HYPE YOUR GIRLS UP. I know, I’ve used caps a lot in this post. But I can not emphasis this enough. Hype them up, ladies. Start getting in the habit of constantly encouraging the women around you. I promise you, your encouragement to her doesn’t in any way diminish the absolutely amazing light shining inside of you. Instead, your encouragement to girls around you makes all of our lights shine even brighter. And I don’t know about you, but this world needs each and every single woman’s light to shine bright for all to see.
Let’s all be the biggest hype girls we know. Just think of the impact we’ll make.
xo
Always,
Elle
P.S. – This is my momma & she is FREAKING AMAZING!!! <3 & so beautiful, am I right?!?!
