How the Mere Act of Just DOING Can Inspire Others

A couple of weeks ago I read a rather wonderful blog post by a new blogger who has recently taken the plunge and started to post outfit photos of herself. It’s a recurring theme that I often see on the internet – women (especially midlife women) taking a deep breath and finally putting themselves out there. What they often don’t realise is that they’re not only doing something cathartic for themselves, but they’re potentially doing a LOT to help and inspire others.

The blogger was Sharon of Best Before End Date (great blog name!) and her blog post The Positive Side of Social Media & How It’s Helped My Confidence was poignant for many reasons. It echoed the voice of so many women who have lost confidence in themselves and in their appearance, women who have been afraid of social media and the negativity that so often precedes it. Sharon gave me and several other bloggers a lovely shout out as women who have inspired her to simply give it a go – she mentioned the post I wrote after being trolled on Facebook had disheartened her but wanted to do it anyway.

And the wonderful thing was this: Sharon not only received positive comments about herself and her outfit, but she started to receive comments about how she, in turn, had inspired others (she’d posted the outfit on her Instagram as well).

What she said was so touching: “At this point I’d like to say don’t expect daily #whatimwearingtoday posts. Little steps! I don’t have enough clothes for one but for me it’s not really about that. For now it’s about the fact that you know what? I should love myself more and never be frightened to take the plunge in anything.”

❝

FOR NOW IT’S ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW WHAT? I SHOULD LOVE MYSELF MORE AND NEVER BE FRIGHTENED TO TAKE THE PLUNGE IN ANYTHING.

❞

– Sharon, Best Before End Date

And therein lies the little secret that myself and so many other women who blog and vlog and post to social media are privy to: The little steps add up to so much more. Blogging is SO much greater than the sum of its parts.

Some of the comments left for Sharon on her post explain exactly what I’m referring to:

“After reading your blog and that I had even the smallest influence to make you feel more confident, makes me much more confident to continue to do what I do”

“I love supporting and encouraging other women to feel and be confident”

“I believe in faking it… Confidence that is!… and no one can tell the difference anyway”

“I felt like that when I started my little style account on Insta, I thought I was too old to do style then I said to myself, *** it! And just did it! I’ve had so much fun since then and I’m sure you will too”

“I’m a size 16-18 and have recently started sharing my daily outfits and have been really inspired by the lovely comments from people who don’t know me”

“Posting my #everydaystyle photo on Instagram most, but not every, day has made a huge difference to my confidence. It is such a self-affirming thing to do”

And this one, which is my absolute favourite and what inspired ME to write this blog post:

“Keep it up, Sharon. Do post outfits and know you are providing ideas and inspiration to others”

How the act of doing can inspire others

And there you have it – the mere act of Sharon posting her outfits has meant that all these other women have been encouraged to share their own photos. And that, in turn, encourages others to feel good about themselves too – we’re not all aged 22 and 5’10” with long legs and supermodel bodies. We come in all shapes and sizes, colours, ages and abilities. If the media aren’t going to be as diverse as we want them to be, then it’s up to us to do it for them.

So remember, it’s the mere act of doing something at all that can inspire someone else.

The execution is not even as important as the act of just DOING. So just go on and do it, whatever “it” may be.

IS THERE SOMETHING (NO MATTER HOW SMALL) YOU CAN DO THIS WEEKEND TO INSPIRE SOMEONE ELSE? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS OR TWEET ME @NOTLAMB!

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