Labels

Let’s talk about labels – More importantly how we label ourselves. For so long, I told myself I was just a crocheter, just a girl trying to get to Friday and the weekend, just a dreamer, just a small-town girl, just a pharmacy tech, just a wife, just a yarn lover, just a blogger, just a yarn dyer and the list goes on and on. Does this sound familiar? Maybe the words are different after “just a” but I would be willing to bet all women can relate to these labels.

Y’all!! We are so much more than that. We have an identity beyond labels no matter who is handing them out. We forget how powerful it is to be proud of ourselves. For so long, we have trained ourselves to stay small for the sake of others’ comfort. Not to talk about ourselves too much or our successes. We don’t want to come across as bragging or making anyone feel bad about themselves, so instead we play ourselves down or make ourselves smaller than what we are. We relate to each other by things we fail at or the weight we just cannot lose or the hair that just won’t part right or how sucky of a wife we are. What we don’t realize is by staying small we have less of an impact.

I did not realize until a friend pointed it out the other day that I have been my own boss for 5 months. I rarely talk about it. This is a huge win. This is a dream come true but I don’t talk about it. I don’t think I have even officially announced it on my Facebook page ’cause you know in this day and time it isn’t official until it’s Facebook official. LOL. I am totally kidding about the social media part!

I had to take some time to really think about why I have kept it quiet. I took some time to reflect and realized that I am not just a yarn dyer or just a sub box owner or just a crocheter. I have to stop putting myself into a labeled box!

Who I am and what I do is so much more. I have an impact. It’s a small one right now but often it’s that first little ripple that makes more ripples. It only takes one domino to get others to start moving. My business isn’t about me. It’s about the women I show up for each and every month and we share a common love for yarn. It’s about having this small, happy community on the internet that we all know we can turn to for a smile or a pick-me-up. It’s about sending out a box that you know is going to make someone’s day! And they are going to make something beautiful with it that will in turn make someone else’s day. It’s about using my small business to support other small business owners with each box. I work intentionally to try to include one item in each sub-box that is from another woman-owned small business. When you buy from a small business, you are doing more with your money than you even realize. You are helping another person believe in themselves even more. You are fueling their passion and allowing them to have a bigger impact on someone’s else life. You are making more ripples!

So next time you label yourself as “just a” stop that thought before you finish it and realize that you are so much more. Let’s start sharing our wins with each other and cheering for each other successes. Success and wins don’t have to be these huge, life-changing accomplishments. They can be a small goal that you wanted to accomplish. Or hey, even just getting our hair to act right, or making it to work on time or actually, putting the clean clothes away instead of leaving them in the laundry basket for 2 years (there is crocheting to do who wants to fold clothes anyway?!). It’s about those wins that are important to you. Let’s start getting comfortable with sharing our wins. I am going to make an effort to do better. You just never know who you are inspiring with your story.