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Labels “We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Identity Labels So, who are you? Identity labels are actually necessary as they shape our behaviour and to an extent our life experiences. The problem lies in associating too strongly with a label. For example the young boy who is labeled a ‘hellraiser’ or ‘troublemaker’ by a parent grows up to be a troubled young man. The young girl who has a fondness for miniskirts and wild hair is labeled a ‘tart’ by her peers and so grows up making choices that ‘fit the profile’. We, as a society, tend to place too much importance on looks, possessions and occupational titles. We admire people who have attained a certain vehicle, a certain address even certain plastic cards and despise the poor slobs who fix the said vehicle, maintain the certain address and produce the plastic for the platinum card in a factory somewhere in the Deep South. Even worse, we accept without question the negative labels handed to us by our parents, peers and oftentimes The-Boss-From-Hell. ‘You will never amount to anything’ Wearing these negative labels stops us from digging deeper and retrieving our real self and clinging to them allows other people to control and manipulate us. Take back your power! Let go of a negative label TODAY. Still your mind and play with some positive alternatives! Here are a few: Wise Woman/Man It is thus with most of us; we are what other people say we are. “We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay.” Yolanda McAdam Yolanda holds one-on-one and small group sessions during the week and on Saturdays and facilitates Self-empowerment and Life Purpose workshops. She can be contacted on 072-113-2374 or via [ email ] Helping people create lives of abundance, |