Labeling Gets Sticky

Life starts us off right away with the labeling – boy, girl, bald, chubby, cute, hairy or scrawny. We continue to amass labels throughout life from not only others but from ourselves too. We pick up labels from how we look, to the things we do or do not do. If we are not careful, we get stuck with destructive or unempowering labels.

Markers such as wimpy, shy, overweight, unattractive, cheap, weak-minded, clumsy, or disorganized, do not lift us up, nor make us feel good.

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

On the other hand labeling one poised, energetic, charming, smart, fit, logical, or skilled, reassures and fosters positive actions within one, supporting mental and physical soundness.

Thoughts Become Labels

Now you may recognize after reading my first post that some of these labels derive from our thoughts. While some cannot be changed – sex, eye color, or age for example – others can be by simply shifting our thinking.

We were not created with labels of dull or timid and they are not true of us 100% of the time. We are not always shy or boring, nor are we always clumsy or disorganized. At our core, we are well and perfect individuals.

We were all born pure with clarity, wisdom, and resilience. That wellness is still within us; we just need to retrieve it and act from there.

We Are Not Candy People, Exercise Freaks, Nor Book-Worms

Individuals who enjoy eating candy are not candy people. People who enjoy exercising are not exercise freaks, nor are people who enjoy reading, book-worms.

When you think of a cake person, what comes to mind? Do you imagine a cake person as someone who loves cake and never turns a slice of cake down? Someone who is expected to eat cake if it is in their sight no matter the time of day or where they are?

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Wayne Dyer

Do you see how this can be a destructive label? If I am a cake person, I then must eat cake and lots of it. I expect it of myself, and others expect it of me too. Not good for long-term health.

We may like cake, but we are not cake people, we are just individuals who enjoy the cake. Instead of wearing the label of a cake person, see that we are just someone who delights in the look, taste, and texture of an excellent baked good. This allows us to take pleasure in a slice of cake on occasion or at celebrations guilt free but does not create a cake monster that eats every cake in our path.

The same goes for an overweight person. Sure someone may look plump and unhealthy, but at their core, they are not an overweight person; instead, their actual nature is healthy and fit. Labeling himself or herself as a heavy/big/thick/chubby person creates a paradigm and sets destructive expectations.

Thinking I am a fat person provides me with a built-in excuse to eat anything, in any amount, at any time. People expect it of me, and I have come to expect it of myself. However, if I can see that my real nature is wellness, being healthy and fit, I can grab on to new empowering beliefs instead.

Swap the Hindering Labeling for Inspiring Tags Instead

Healthy individuals eat nourishing foods in reasonable proportions only when hungry most of the time (no one is perfect after all). Fit people get up and move daily. They exercise out of enjoyment for it not as if it were a dreaded chore.

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” ~ Muhammad Ali

Wanting to be the fit, healthy individual I know I am inside, I let the negative labeling (fat, unfit person) go and see my thoughts change. I am now a person who eats whole, nutritious food and exercises for health and fitness to achieve my true state of wellness. Embracing this mindset empowers me to act on it. By shifting our thoughts from destructive to encouraging we change our life.

Been identifying with disempowering tags? Try seeing positive and motivational identifiers instead and see what that brings you. Recall a time when you were not shy or fearful and use that memory to visualize an affirming label such as confident or poised.

Find an area of your life that is not disorganized and see that you are prepared and efficient. Look in the mirror and notice the beautiful blue in your eyes or remember the wonderful memories that created those laugh lines and know that you are attractive and loved.

Peeling the Labels Off

Releasing negative labels creates opportunities for transformation in life if we let them. Letting go of my negative tags enabled me to kick sugar and chocolate habits, lose almost 30 lbs, improve relationships with family, friends, and coworkers, increase financial net worth, eliminate almost all my migraine suffering, and start this blog, among other things.

Accessing and listening to our inner wellness – our clarity, wisdom, and intuition – and acting from it and not from our negative or discouraging thoughts and labels, shifts our patterns.

“Well, I don’t think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that’s going to shut down the world.” ~ Melissa Leo

We then operate from a place of awareness and peace, and not from a place of anxiety and irrationality. Thus, allowing us to create and thrive in life not enslaving us in negative thoughts just floundering along.

Positive thoughts lead to progressive actions creating exciting and inspiring wholehearted lives. Are you ready for change? It’s not too late. Has labeling impacted you negatively or positively? What labels would you like to rip off? What labels do you want to stick?