Definition
It’s tough leading your whole life by a dictionary definition – a role, a label, a mindset. Yet that’s precisely what we do, until we don’t.
Are you a mother? Father? Perhaps you’re a cabinet maker or strong willed.
Did you ever notice that when you define yourself, your options of being something else disappear?
The old axiom is accurate: “When you label it, you limit it.”
You take so many options off the table for yourself when you define yourself. The definition locks you in to a mental fairy tale. Yes, you may be the mother to a child, but you needn’t be locked in to the label that “Mother” connotes in your head. If you do that, you won’t be able to do or be what a mother “shouldn’t” do or be.
My favorite response to the question “What do you do?” is “I’m a house wife.” I usually ask the person if they are married to a house. This usually is enough of a pattern interrupt to show them their labeling system and its limitations.
If you examine your labels of yourself, you will find your limitations. The label self imposes them.
What label is mischaracterizing you?
Here’s my suggestion: Drop a label from your life and find out what happens.
Look through your list of labels and “downsize” one of them. Give it a pink slip. Notice the freedom that goes along with not having to be that anymore. You may still do all the functions associated with that label but you won’t be it anymore. By letting go of the label, you open yourself up to options. These options remain invisible as long as we have a label covering them over.
People may not appreciate you until you appreciate yourself. Part of that appreciation is recognizing there is more to you than a definition can ever communicate.
Losing your label is a step towards self discovery. When you are free of labels, you free yourself from the limitations they imply.
Define is the opposite of divine.
One doorway to your divinity is to remove the label that says “Do not enter.”
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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