Where Does Your Identity Come From?

“No more labeling of children’s characters. Every child needs to be seen as a multifaceted being-now shy and withdrawn, now boisterous and outgoing; now slow and thoughtful, now swift and purposeful; now stubborn and uncooperative, now flexible. But never the same, always in process, always with the capacity for change and growth…Every child needs to be seen as a “learner” and encouraged to experience the joy of intellectual discovery and the satisfaction of making progress-however fast or slow…Every child needs to be encouraged to experience the pleasures of sports, song, dance, theater, and art without worrying about having to be the star athlete or a musical genius or the class actress or the family artist. No more imprisoning of children’s hopes and dreams and possibilities by locking them in with labels. Who knows what any of us might become if just one person believed in us enough to help us explore our unexplored selves.”

This is an excerpt from the book, “How to Talk So Kids Can Learn at Home and in School” by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Do you ever feel like people slap labels on you? I know that I am guilty of labeling myself and others. This is not always done with malicious intent. Unfortunately, the label that we slap onto ourselves or someone else is incomplete and sometimes even inaccurate. Here’s my challenge to you—scrape off the labels that have been slapped onto you. You don’t have to live by those labels! Go out and join a Meetup group to make some new friends, pick up a fun hobby, volunteer for an important cause, read some stimulating books or travel to an inspiring location. As the author puts it, I challenge you to explore your unexplored self.

This post was originally published on February 14, 2019 and was updated on November 18, 2019.