Not Little

I read something a couple of weeks ago that's been niggling at the back of my mind ever since. I'm afraid I can't remember the original source now (sorry I can't credit you) but whoever it was said their pet peeve was people who describe their creations, shops, blogs or whatever, as "my little shop", or "my little business", etc. They went on to say that we should be proud of our achievements and own them and not dismiss them as somehow unimportant. It made me think. I'm always describing what I do as my little blog, or my little shop. Why?

By calling my blog or my shop 'little' am I saying it doesn't really matter much and isn't really terribly serious or important to me? That certainly isn't the case. I'm not sure if its a wholly feminine trait but something makes me think this relates to being a girl. I grew up in the 60s and 70s when little girls were supposed to be modest, not pushy, considerate of other people's feelings but not particularly able to express their own, especially if those feelings weren't considered very feminine. Having a naturally reticent and shy personality I've continued to go through life giving off a slightly apologetic vibe. Little me.

I guess I've been living a bit of a lie. This shrinking violet is at heart pretty ambitious, with strong opinions, and can be very passionate about things. My shop is small, yes, but it matters to me, I spend a lot of time thinking about it and I love finding things to put in it. My blog matters to me too. We all know its not nice to be arrogant or too pushy but this came as a timely reminder not to go too far the other way.

Be proud of what you do - and if you catch me describing anything as 'little' again tell me to stop!