CROSS STITCH CONNECTIONS

Jessica Savage continues her series of charts you can stitch to award yourself, this time with a reminder not to limit your own potential…

Hullo! This month’s badge reminds us to challenge our perceptions of our own capacity. Next time you think, “I could never do that,” stop and ask yourself why.

I have brightly coloured hair and others often comment, “I wish I could do that, but I could never pull it off .” Trust me, you could! I’m not special - I just like bright hair and decided to try it. But this ability to curtail our capacity goes beyond pink hair.

It’s easy to limit what you think you can achieve when people around you are risk adverse. When I left my job as a research scientist to be a cross-stitch designer, I got a few criticisms. Many were quick to focus on what I was leaving, and the risks involved. It was refreshing to realise they were projecting their fears onto me, rather than suggesting, good or bad, anything about my career.