Hello there! Firstly, thank you to the sweet people who reached out to me yesterday after I posted a somewhat cryptic message about having a tough weekend. You guys are so sweet and it really meant a lot to me.
This weekend, I had a fair share of negativity thrown my way, mostly in the form of hurtful, destructive opinions toward some of my work from an unsolicited source. Now, working in a creative field, I like to think I have pretty thick skin when it comes to critiques. I’m used to constantly being asked to alter, modify and start from scratch in the name of a project- and I love that part of my job! The intersection of creative collaboration and constructive criticism is where great things come together.
This, however, was not that. This was more of an attack, without any constructive points. It was needlessly personal in nature, and frankly just mean for mean’s sake.
Luckily my clients have been incredibly supportive and have encouraged me to ignore the negative feedback (and keep in mind it was one opinion and a very biased one at that), but I had a difficult time with it. I take my work very seriously, and naturally this kind of feedback really makes me examine my work and my process to see where the kernel of truth may be. Some of their points I took to heart, storing away to revisit on future projects. Other points were obviously the kind of negative comments you should just ignore- but I couldn’t seem to. I kept circling around the issue, trying to figure out what exactly bothered me so much about it, and it came down to this: I can’t understand people who put out such negativity without provocation.
I guess I’d call these people haters. For some reason they are unhappy in themselves, and decide to inflict this on others. I’ve seen what negativity can do to a person. Negativity wears down those around you, and corrodes your own happiness. It feeds on itself, and is hard to shake. I don’t like seeing this in myself, and could see it growing as I continued to stew on Sunday.
Then I decided to stop and focus on the lovers. These are the people who are fountains of positivity, constantly sending out affirmations into the universe- whether it’s a kind word, a smile or simply living in such an awesome way that they inspire you to be a better person. These people are my clients, friends, family, coworkers and loved ones, and I won’t let another day go by where I’m too busy focusing on the Negative Nancy’s of the world to give them their due. You guys rock.
With that in mind, I’m doing my darndest to put out the positivity this week. And how fitting, considering it’s also Valentine’s Day! In honor of both these facts, I’ve decided to create a few designs- conveniently sized to fit a Facebook Timeline, should you desire to put out the vibe yourself! Just click below to download.
Hey hey erin may 