When can I start cutting?

Why the fundamentals come first.

Photo by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash

For those of you who do not know, I am a qualified hairdresser., I decided at 30 to start a new career and began my journey through a 9-month hairdressing course.

I remember that first day at inductions, starting with five others, all a lot younger than me, and... all girls.

Going through the running of the course, I recall one asking when we could start cutting.

They all had brand-new scissors ready to go.

The eagerness to get to that point was clear to see, but it was explained to them that the basics needed to be learned first, the preparation of the hair, the cleaning and why, the different parts of the head, and other important factors before we got to that stage.

A couple of months passed, and I felt I was struggling. My big man's hands, inexperience in handling long hair, a hairdryer, and apparent heavy tension is good to make the blowdry last.

But still, my inner critic was at me, watching as my five classmates moved ahead in their training.

Fast forward to month 3, and a new set of students joined.

To my surprise, they asked me to take them for their in-salon inductions, explain body posture at the basins, how to wash, scrub and condition the hair, and seat the client back in the chair to ensure the gown and towel are on correctly.

It wasn't long before I was asked by one of the newbies, "when do we start cutting."

And there was a turning point when I realized I was not so far behind or doing as poorly as my critic had convinced me. I may not have been at par with those I started with, but to these only beginning, they got the impression that I was so far ahead of them, with so much knowledge.

In our journeys of healing and growth, how alike is this?

When we all wish we were further on than we are, comparing ourselves to others who may have been involved in our hurt and trauma or how someone else in similar situations gets their life back on track.

I use the word healing, but when anything is cut, leaves us in pain, or gets infected, such as relationships ending toxic work environments or family and friendship dynamics changing, they require a healing period.

We may wish to jump to the fun part, "the cutting," right away and even attempt to get there without learning the fundamentals, the foundations to get us that fun part.

We can't cut dirty hair and expect it to look right, just like we cannot expect it to heal if we still hold onto the dirt and grime that hurt us in the first place.

Removing that is hard, but essential to do these things before expecting to get to the end product.

Removing the hate and anger towards that work environment, relationship, or particular situation.

Transferring the love and energy you invested into it and showing it to yourself, releasing all of which we cannot control to put our focus on the things we can control.

Being patient, that once we learn everything at the start, they will stand for us in the future in all aspects of life. We will always feel we are behind others; our inner critic will remind us of that, but it is not a race to the finish line.

Once we show kindness to ourselves and patience, we will get there.

And in time, we will encounter others who are just starting on their path of self-discovery and who will also be eager to get to the endpoint and look to you for advice and guidance or admire you for how far you have come, and perhaps only then will we give ourselves credit for the hard work we have put in to get to that point.

The fundamentals may seem less glamorous and exciting, but we will only get the same results if we learn them, put them into practice, and wonder why we aren't getting anywhere.

And before you know it, the scissors will be out, and we can cut away all that is unnecessary and have the tools to finish the masterpiece you are.

As always, thanks for reading,

Marcus.