Alright everyone. It's time to talk about the "L" word.....that's right, you guessed it.
LABELS.
A label is probably one of the most detrimental societal pressures out there. I'm not talking about food labels, I'm talking about the unseen invisible titles that we live our lives according to.
"Warning: Ingredients on label may not reflect ingredients added after manufacturing and processing."
Labels affect the way we see ourselves AND the way we see others. Sociologically, putting a label on something is our brains way of categorizing the object so that it doesn't seem foreign or threatening to us. Our brains natural instinct is to label something or someone in order to understand it. Well, here we have a problem. We categorize and label based on what we already know. We are putting our thoughts and judgements onto something else, using our own ability to interpret that image. This isn't necessarily wrong, but it can cause a lot of issues.
RECENT SOCIETAL EXAMPLE: A man walking down the street with his face covered in a hood, hands in pockets, walking fast. (Please note that I am looking at this situation as something that is occurring presently in our society and I am by no means casting my own judgment on this particular situation.) Now, our brains need to categorize what this person means. Labels start appearing in your mind: "Dangerous. Sketchy. Gun. Drugs. Gang. Unsafe." What do we base our reasoning off of? Why do those thoughts and labels pop up? It's because of the way society as already "pre-labeled" this situation. Over time, through movies, news, magazines, and other media outlets, usually the "bad guy" is portrayed as the previous. Therefore, whenever we see this in real life, our brain categorizes things off of images we have ingested our whole lives.
That was a hot topic example. But to make it less controversial, think of the labels that you put on other people when they walk by. "Jock. Preppy. Trashy. Slutty. Easy. Pretty. Hot. Geek. Hipster." The list goes on. But we all do it. Our brain associates our current knowledge with people who walk by us because we have a need to understand and interpret them quickly without interacting.
This is so dangerous. It's almost worse than not even seeing that person. By putting labels on someone, we are basically walking throughout our day looking at people like canned goods. We give people a label based on their packaging and automatically assume their ingredients.
The case can be made that this better helps us interact and communicate with people based on characteristics that they show. Like if someone is wearing a religious symbol of some kind, we can better understand how to approach them by knowing the connotations and backgrounds of that symbol. Or if someone looks and is acting dangerous, we have the ability to get somewhere safe and avoid that person based on the associations of danger that we've learned from that person.
Yes I agree, our actions can be determined by the labels and associations out there. But think about this: What labels have you glued to yourself? What image are you trying to portray in order to be judged for that label? Are you brushing your hair because you want to look "clean and well groomed"? Or maybe you are putting on your Ray Bands to appear "elite and prestigious." Putting on makeup to not look "Ugly." Not singing out loud the song in your head in fear of being labeled "weird or crazy." Accepting a career solely for the image that career displays. What happens when we don't live up to the labels we put on ourselves? What happens when we have been labeled "smart" our whole life but then fail a test. What happens when we have been labeled "athlete" and then we suffer an injury and can't play anymore.
What happens if we've been labeled "ugly" or "fat"? Those labels can cause one to stop eating for the desired label of "thin" or "beautiful." Not living up to a label can be catastrophic for us and cause us to do just about anything to achieve the desired label. Even when we label other people and then meet them, we find out that sometimes we are disappointed or shocked because they did not live up to the expectation you set them up for.
Are you seeing the pattern here? You have either put a label on yourself that you are so afraid to tear off because the connotations with that label will be ripped off as well, or you are trying so desperately to be a certain label that you altering your ingredients to fit in.
Labels run our lives.
1) Labels give you unrealistic expectations of yourself and others.
Avoid telling yourself that you have to be the "smart one" or the "funny one" or the "popular one" or any other label. Look at it a different way:
I am (insert name). I am loved and I've got soul. I'm on my way to doing big things and I've got some talent and skills that will help me make my dreams become reality. I am capable.
Instead of:
I'm smart. I'm hot. I'm popular. I'm stupid. I'm a nobody. I'm ugly. Oh yeah and my name is (insert name.)
Your name is your label. Stay with me.
Your name and soul hold your beliefs, values, and dreams---not the packaging that your name and soul come with.
2) Living without labels is almost impossible but very liberating.
Like I said, the brain has a tendency to categorize people so that it can better understand them. But I fear another reason that we categorize people is because we don't understand ourselves. There is a lack of confidence and joy in ourselves so we chose to label others as an outlet. We translate other people because we cannot fully translate ourselves. And in return, we come up with meaningless titles/labels for ourselves so that we can feel like we are whole. But the labels fail us because they are just bandaids over too big a wound. Our reliance on a label comes from our desperate need to look and feel complete. But this route is the quick fix solution that doesn't stick. Sooner or later, we are going to have to strip off the labels that we are hiding behind and embrace each other's vulnerability. When will we stop interacting as canned goods and start opening up to be messy and beautiful together?
3) You have a chance to love yourself when you get rid of the Brand Name.
You are not something to be branded and distributed. Do not allow yourself or society to place superficial labels to your essence and being. You are already all that you are <--- meaning: you are enough. You are doing okay so shed the materialistic packaging that you're putting on something so pure and precious.
In the end, whether we are trying to impress others or feel better about ourselves, labels fail us. They fail us because they are not supposed to be a part of our being no matter how hard society wants them to be. Look at yourself and decide what would make you happy and what kind of person you want to be WITHOUT using labels. Because I guarantee that if you start measuring up to your own standards instead of everybody else's, you'll make it.
LABELS.
A label is probably one of the most detrimental societal pressures out there. I'm not talking about food labels, I'm talking about the unseen invisible titles that we live our lives according to.
"Warning: Ingredients on label may not reflect ingredients added after manufacturing and processing."
Labels affect the way we see ourselves AND the way we see others. Sociologically, putting a label on something is our brains way of categorizing the object so that it doesn't seem foreign or threatening to us. Our brains natural instinct is to label something or someone in order to understand it. Well, here we have a problem. We categorize and label based on what we already know. We are putting our thoughts and judgements onto something else, using our own ability to interpret that image. This isn't necessarily wrong, but it can cause a lot of issues.
RECENT SOCIETAL EXAMPLE: A man walking down the street with his face covered in a hood, hands in pockets, walking fast. (Please note that I am looking at this situation as something that is occurring presently in our society and I am by no means casting my own judgment on this particular situation.) Now, our brains need to categorize what this person means. Labels start appearing in your mind: "Dangerous. Sketchy. Gun. Drugs. Gang. Unsafe." What do we base our reasoning off of? Why do those thoughts and labels pop up? It's because of the way society as already "pre-labeled" this situation. Over time, through movies, news, magazines, and other media outlets, usually the "bad guy" is portrayed as the previous. Therefore, whenever we see this in real life, our brain categorizes things off of images we have ingested our whole lives.
That was a hot topic example. But to make it less controversial, think of the labels that you put on other people when they walk by. "Jock. Preppy. Trashy. Slutty. Easy. Pretty. Hot. Geek. Hipster." The list goes on. But we all do it. Our brain associates our current knowledge with people who walk by us because we have a need to understand and interpret them quickly without interacting.
This is so dangerous. It's almost worse than not even seeing that person. By putting labels on someone, we are basically walking throughout our day looking at people like canned goods. We give people a label based on their packaging and automatically assume their ingredients.
The case can be made that this better helps us interact and communicate with people based on characteristics that they show. Like if someone is wearing a religious symbol of some kind, we can better understand how to approach them by knowing the connotations and backgrounds of that symbol. Or if someone looks and is acting dangerous, we have the ability to get somewhere safe and avoid that person based on the associations of danger that we've learned from that person.
Yes I agree, our actions can be determined by the labels and associations out there. But think about this: What labels have you glued to yourself? What image are you trying to portray in order to be judged for that label? Are you brushing your hair because you want to look "clean and well groomed"? Or maybe you are putting on your Ray Bands to appear "elite and prestigious." Putting on makeup to not look "Ugly." Not singing out loud the song in your head in fear of being labeled "weird or crazy." Accepting a career solely for the image that career displays. What happens when we don't live up to the labels we put on ourselves? What happens when we have been labeled "smart" our whole life but then fail a test. What happens when we have been labeled "athlete" and then we suffer an injury and can't play anymore.
What happens if we've been labeled "ugly" or "fat"? Those labels can cause one to stop eating for the desired label of "thin" or "beautiful." Not living up to a label can be catastrophic for us and cause us to do just about anything to achieve the desired label. Even when we label other people and then meet them, we find out that sometimes we are disappointed or shocked because they did not live up to the expectation you set them up for.
Are you seeing the pattern here? You have either put a label on yourself that you are so afraid to tear off because the connotations with that label will be ripped off as well, or you are trying so desperately to be a certain label that you altering your ingredients to fit in.
Labels run our lives.
1) Labels give you unrealistic expectations of yourself and others.
Avoid telling yourself that you have to be the "smart one" or the "funny one" or the "popular one" or any other label. Look at it a different way:
I am (insert name). I am loved and I've got soul. I'm on my way to doing big things and I've got some talent and skills that will help me make my dreams become reality. I am capable.
Instead of:
I'm smart. I'm hot. I'm popular. I'm stupid. I'm a nobody. I'm ugly. Oh yeah and my name is (insert name.)
Your name is your label. Stay with me.
Your name and soul hold your beliefs, values, and dreams---not the packaging that your name and soul come with.
2) Living without labels is almost impossible but very liberating.
Like I said, the brain has a tendency to categorize people so that it can better understand them. But I fear another reason that we categorize people is because we don't understand ourselves. There is a lack of confidence and joy in ourselves so we chose to label others as an outlet. We translate other people because we cannot fully translate ourselves. And in return, we come up with meaningless titles/labels for ourselves so that we can feel like we are whole. But the labels fail us because they are just bandaids over too big a wound. Our reliance on a label comes from our desperate need to look and feel complete. But this route is the quick fix solution that doesn't stick. Sooner or later, we are going to have to strip off the labels that we are hiding behind and embrace each other's vulnerability. When will we stop interacting as canned goods and start opening up to be messy and beautiful together?
3) You have a chance to love yourself when you get rid of the Brand Name.
You are not something to be branded and distributed. Do not allow yourself or society to place superficial labels to your essence and being. You are already all that you are <--- meaning: you are enough. You are doing okay so shed the materialistic packaging that you're putting on something so pure and precious.
In the end, whether we are trying to impress others or feel better about ourselves, labels fail us. They fail us because they are not supposed to be a part of our being no matter how hard society wants them to be. Look at yourself and decide what would make you happy and what kind of person you want to be WITHOUT using labels. Because I guarantee that if you start measuring up to your own standards instead of everybody else's, you'll make it.