Enough

Inspired by an email we received from Hannah Brencher, our welcome to All Stitched Up! issue #281 unpacked some thoughts about comparison. 

We looked at some of the reasons comparison doesn’t serve us well, walked through a few of the steps Hannah has taken to swap comparison for productivity in her own life and encouraged us all to acknowledge that each step of our own needlework journey matters, as by doing our best we give others a reason to celebrate all that’s possible with their own needle and thread.

Since penning these words, another of Hannah’s emails brought a further antidote to comparison. It was titled with just three simple words. 

Now admittedly, Hannah’s latest email unpacked her journey with body image rather than needle and thread, but when we read her words in light of our own stitching experience, her words rang ever true!

When we look at what we’ve achieved with needle and thread and somehow feel we’ve fallen short, Hannah has three simple questions we can ask ourselves that will help us figure out where our standard of ‘not enough’ comes from.

1. What standard am I striving to meet?
2. Who is the benchmark?
3. What must I accomplish before I give myself the title of enough?

Chances are the answers to these questions may well come from the comparisons we’ve made to the stitching of others.

But the truth is, not only are we enough, but what we create with needle and thread will always be enough. However, in order to believe that truth, Hannah reminded us that we must always treat ourselves with respect, dignity and kindness and that regardless of what goes wrong with the stitching before us, we will be kind to ourselves and gentle in our judgement of what we’ve achieved.

We need to remember that progress, not perfection is our goal and promise ourselves that we will show up to the needlework before us, whether we find ourselves full of confidence or riddled with apprehension. Hannah’s advice is to simply commit to the project ahead, be all in with each stitch that lays before us and to squash the lie that we aren’t enough for the task at hand.

It may be a struggle to begin with, and whilst true change takes time and commitment, if we stay the course, Hannah’s experience of feeling enough can too be ours. 

In closing her email, Hannah asked us to take these words with us on our journey to enough: ‘You are ready. You are qualified for this moment. If you weren’t then you would not be here. The way towards deep and lasting change is small things on repeat. You are worth the fight.’