Labels are everywhere: How can we use them to our advantage?
By Fee Teng Liew
Labels…we use them everyday whether we are aware of it or not. Whether that’s labelling people, things, or situations, labels are how we convey information about something to others. We often use labels to define our identity and to answer questions like ‘So what do you do?’. When being asked these questions, we often feel a need to answer with just one succinct label, or as few as possible, each of which have further connotations or stereotypes attached to them.
That’s not to say labels are all bad, because labels can be great. For example, if you label yourself as hard working, kind hearted, intelligent and ambitious, it can encourage you to continue learning and growing despite any challenges/barriers and it enables you to feel more confident in your abilities. You’re more likely to believe in yourself and like who you are - which is key to happiness. This is known as positive labelling.
However, labels can also be limiting for our wellbeing and development if we’re not careful. We can often put ourselves or others into a box, therefore limiting what we think we are capable of and our ability to grow. If we believe we are not good enough to achieve something, we will ultimately find ways to prove that. Labels do not take into account how complex and multifaceted our lives are. Becoming ‘trapped’ into a certain identity in this way can be seen as negative labelling and is a big contributor to unhappiness and depression.
So, how can we overcome negative labelling?
1) Firstly, how do you label yourself?
If you could describe your identity or your life in 3 words, what would they be? Are you happy with how you have described yourself? The way we think about and talk to ourselves is so powerful in determining our reality. As they say: ‘we are what we think we are’. The way we see ourselves, or our self perception, dictates our thoughts, actions and how we spend our time.
If you’re not happy with the way you have labelled yourself, know that you have the power to change it! Remember positive vs negative labelling above - it is absolutely possible to shift from negative labelling to positive labelling and to take back control over your life.
2) Self awareness and regular reflections
Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Are you regularly checking in with yourself and noticing how it is that you are labelling yourself, talking to yourself, or how you perceive your life/future? It’s important to remain open-minded during this process and to not be self-critical if you are labelling yourself negatively. You are simply understanding more about the way you think, and opening the doors to enable positive change to happen.
3) Describe yourself in terms of your values and personal vision rather than your occupation
Rather than limiting ‘what you do’ into one singular word e.g. ‘I am an accountant’, describe your values and vision, which will tie together lots of different aspects of your life. For example, ‘Helping others is something that’s really important to me, so I do this through being an accountant for small businesses and also volunteering in my local community.’ This tells so much more about you than your job title. Instead, these labels (i.e. ‘accountant’) are seen as avenues to help you fulfil your personal values/vision, rather than defining the whole of you.
4) You don’t have to be perfect all the time
I can guarantee you that almost every successful person has failed in their life - multiple times, and will continue to fail as they continue to develop. It’s okay (and completely normal) to make mistakes and to not know everything you ‘need’ to know. Allow yourself the time to learn along the way and take off the pressure of needing to have every step figured out. After all, if we didn’t have these negative experiences, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the positive experiences, or learn and develop as a person.
5) Remember that labels are fluid and can always be redefined
The only constant in life is change. This can be true for almost anything, including labels. Your occupation, interests, perspectives, friendships, values etc. are likely to change throughout your life, which means that the way you label yourself may change too, and that’s okay. Don’t feel like you need to stick to a certain identity just because you have been known for that your whole life. If it doesn’t align with the direction you’re heading, it’s okay to let it go. Remember to focus on positive labels - reminding yourself of your strengths, achievements and good you have done in the world.
As a bonus tip, we’d like to share a ‘current self vs future self’ exercise that might help:
On one side of a page, draw a picture of your current self (it doesn’t need to be a masterpiece) and around the image, write how you would describe or label your current self and life. Then, on the right side, draw another picture of yourself that represents your future or ideal self. Around this image, write down how you would like your future self to be. It’s a great way to not only understand how you currently label yourself, but also gain some motivation and insight into how you can get closer to your future or ideal self.
To conclude, labelling isn’t always a bad thing and it’s not something that we can immediately stop doing either. Rather, it is something that we should learn to be aware of and make sure we are using to our advantage. The perceptions we have about ourselves dictate almost everything we think and do, so it’s really important to remain aware of this, to then be able to take the steps to create positive change in our lives.