Have you ever had someone say something about you, or call you something that you knew wasn’t true, yet what that person said somehow has stayed with you and maybe shaped the way you view yourself?  I think we all have had this happen at some time or another.  Unfortunately, when we allow even subconsciously, other people’s thoughts or words to stick to us, we have allowed ourselves to be “labeled”.

       Labels don’t have to only be negative in connotation, even “good” descriptions of us, can put something on us that maybe isn’t something we want to be labeled as.  This usually happens with a future vocation or purpose that someone can see for us, that maybe we don’t see or want for ourselves.  Negative labels usually come from someone’s opinion, rather than the truth of who we are.

      Because of being born with Spinabifida, I could have lived under the label of “handicapped” or “crippled” all of my life, but fortunately for me, I had parents and other people surrounding me that never let me think that way about myself.  From the time I was little, I had people reminding me that there were no limitations in my life and that I could do whatever I put my mind to. Therefore a negative concept of my abilities or identity never stuck to me.

      Take a minute and think to yourself- is there a thought or word about you that you consistently place on who you think you are?  Does this thought or word truly describe you-the real you? Or is it just something that you have accepted about yourself?  If I asked you to describe to me who you are, what would you say?  Would you say you are short, tall, a mom or dad, pretty, or not, smart or outgoing?  But do those words even describe the real you?  Do your descriptions of you come from what someone else has said about you, or are they untrue thoughts that you have placed on yourself?

      Getting free from labels, requires taking some time to take inventory of who we really are and what we really want out of our life.  You do not have to live under what anyone has ever said or thought about you, unless you want to.  Don’t allow yourself to settle under a mediocre identity, find the truth of who you really are and live it!  Be bold and realistic and never let yourself settle for something less than what you really deserve!
        

                                                              Copyright Divine Potential 2009