Put Some Respect on the Name
Who do we respect?
What do we respect?
I just got this new t-shirt in the mail, from a company called Always Ballinā UK. It was a gift from them because my team and I won our silver medal at the Commonwealth Games (still crazy to me)!
On the front of the t-shirt was a slogan-
āPut Some Respect on the Nameā
It got me thinking. Put respect on whoās name?
Why does society respect certain people?
Why does the media hold certain people up for us to idolise?
Sometimes, if you only look in front of you, at the tabloids, the reality TV shows and the ātrendingā beauties of the day, itās easy to be led down the path of superficial success and put respect on the names of those that sell.
However, if you lift the social media and reality TV veil, you can see, all around you, the people whose names to put respect on.
To me, the people who work their asses off every day to make a difference in the world are those that deserve the most respect. That may be in the form of a world renowned activist or President Obama or in a major scientific discovery. Or it could be in the form of a local activist, handing out leaflets door to door, our local MPs, the nurse who cared for someone you love. The impact, at an individual level, these people have is the same, the reasons they do what they do correlates, the work they put in is of the same gravity.
One may have the platform of a million followers on Instagram and the other 200 but they touch the world with the same love. These are the people whose names we should respect.
But sometimes - and itās important I say sometimes, as itās not all the time - I see people idolising a post of utter poutery. I think I made the word up š¤·š»āāļø, but you know what I mean. Those lip injected pouts that are supposed to be perfection. That unnatural hip to bum ratio that are ālife goalsā to strive for.
I see it a lot in young people, young girls I work with and itās damaging. They are bombarded with images like this every day. The amount of likes on the picture validating the person thatās in them. Giving these girls a false sense of what it is to be respected.
What do you want to be respected for?
I have to ask them because itās an easy road to go down. Gaining quick and instant ārespectā for posting a photo of āphlawlessā physical beauty - all in a cloud of āphiltersā.
A respect of superficial proportions.
Young girls should want to be respected for more.
For working hard in school. For being a great friend. For doing extra volunteer work in their local community. For achieving success in their field of excellence. There are countless ways but they require resolve, persistence and integrity.
Iām not saying donāt feel beautiful and proud but recognise that the real beauty comes from within.
You have to first respect your own name to enable others to respect it. Believe in who you are and what you stand for and let that show in your actions. You wonāt always get it right and the things you believe in will continually change but be happy with who you are as person and not what you are in a photo.
Putting the respect on the name of 50,000 picture likes, because someoneās curves are in all the right places, doesnāt change the world.
There are people around us, every day, that change the world for the better with each thoughtful action they carry out. Put the respect on these peopleās names - it will travel a lot further!!
Putting respect on your own name by trying to make a difference to yourself, your family, your friends and even strangers around you is where the real changes come. Each of us can do something to make the world better and if that puts respect on our name so be it.
But if we are focused on the right things we wonāt even be aware of the respect others put on us because it is what we are doing, not what they are saying we are doing, that counts.
Who do you respect most?
Why do you respect them?
Balls of love,
Shevy šā¤ļøš