How does it feel to be a label maker?

Don’t worry, it’s not just you, we all do it. We’re all quick to apply labels to people; it’s just the way our brains are wired to work. It’s easy, quick and requires very little energy to label a person or even in some cases an event. Unfortunately what labeling does is that it reduces a person or event to one word and that word is loaded with biases and prejudices. And once a person or event is reduced to a label, it’s extremely difficult to see past the label that only represents a tiny sliver of the entire person or event.

Labeling is a form of all-or-nothing thinking. Yes, labeling can be considered efficient but it’s also lazy thinking. You see, most of the labels you use to define people and events have been adopted by you from the people and environment that you were surrounded by during your formative years, and the labels you learned have left a deep imprint on your mind. By the way, this also includes the labels that were placed upon you as a child. You use the same labeling techniques to judge yourself as you do with others.

Labels prevent you from really seeing others and to some extent even more important, they prevent you from really seeing yourself.

So how do you stop labeling yourself and others?

Well, it takes some work, but if you’re willing to put in the time you’ll find that it’s well worth it.

When you find yourself quick to label or judge, you have to ask yourself, how much do I really know about this person or event? And you have to answer the question with as much honesty as you can muster. It’s only then can you begin to see people and events for who and what they really are, and if you answer the question honestly you’ll soon come to realize that you rarely know as much about the person or event as you thought you did.

By the way, this applies to you too. If there are labels that were placed on you by those around you or self-imposed that have reduced your idea of yourself to a handful of words, then perhaps it’s time for you to look past your own labels and discover who you really are.

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