Today on my morning walk down by the river, I passed a couple that were also out for their morning walk. The thing that grabbed my attention was that the female was wearing a bright pink bath robe.
My very first thought was, why on earth would she be wearing her bright pink dressing gown in the middle of public? (Now that I think about it, I was out for dinner the other night and saw a man eating his dinner in his bathrobe too. Maybe this is the new trend??)
The most interesting aspect of this experience was not the fact that she was wearing her dressing gown out in public, but my first reaction that she shouldn’t be wearing it out in public. I then began to wonder who decided that she shouldn’t wear a bathrobe out in public? Who decided the piece of clothing she was wearing was even called a dressing gown and that it was for use in the privacy of your own home?
This led me to thinking about language and people’s practice of labelling things in our experiences. The truth is, once we label something; we can begin to limit its possibilities. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that labels aren’t useful. They are. Labels allow us to use language to communicate meaning to each other, which allows us to process large amounts of information.
What I am saying, is that once we label something it also results in a lot of information being excluded. If you think about a car seat belt for example, the label identifies its intended purpose in the car. However, from my experience in emergency response, I can tell you the uses of a seat belt are much more than to restrain the occupant of a car.
The other day, someone asked me for my title. For a moment, I wondered how I encapsulate all that I am and all that I offer to this world in one small title?
Yes, I am a Soul Purpose Facilitator. Yes, I am a Positive Psychology Strengths Development Specialist.
I am also a geologist, a trainer, a speaker, a hypnotherapist, a coach, a leader. I am a thriver of chronic fatigue, an explorer, a spiritual teacher, I am a student, a seeker, a creator, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a lover. I am an expression of the divine. I use all of these titles & more in my experience every day to help me with my purpose in this world.
How do you label yourself?
What labels do you give yourself? How do these labels limit you I wonder?
I wonder, how many other things you are that you can come up with beyond that label? Go on, give it a go and see how many labels you can get.
You are also much, much, more than all of the things that you can come up with, aren’t you!
It’s super handy to remember that labels can exclude a lot of information so that you are then able to step back and see all of the possibilities that are available to you.
You are more than a label you are limitless!
