It’s common for people to give themselves a label to describe their identity and characteristics. How often have you heard someone describe themselves as a worrier? Or as being shy?
Labelling can be positive if they lead to great health and wellbeing but often the labels, we give ourselves are limiting and lead to negative self-perception.
Once we have a label, we unconsciously look for evidence to support and reinforce it. We start to believe it because of the evidence, and it can stop us from embracing our unique selves.
If you prefer to read – scroll down past the video and you’ll find the tips there…
Liberation from Labels
The first step to liberating yourself from labels is to notice how frequently you’re labelling yourself. Recognise how the label has become part of your identity and notice how you see yourself because of the label you’ve given yourself.
The next step is to work out whether the label is useful to you – is it serving you? If it is, great, keep it! If not, change it.
Decide what you would prefer to label yourself. If you’ve always labelled yourself as shy, what about labelling yourself as confident? How does that feel? Instead of being a shy person, you’re a confident person – how would that impact your life?
Maintaining the Positive Label
When we give ourselves a negative label, we find all the evidence we need to support that label, so we become it. Start looking for evidence to support your new, positive label. If your new label choice is being confident, remember all the times you felt confident. Include those times that you did or said something confidently. How does it feel to have evidence to reinforce your new label?
Our brains are just as good at finding and acting on evidence of positive labels as they are finding evidence to support a negative label. So, start to choose which labels you use when it comes to describing yourself.
Get Help
The labels we use have a huge impact on our wellbeing and happiness. If you struggle with the labels you give yourself, contact us and find out how we can help you.
