Good and Bad of Labels

What are you? How to you envision yourself? What are you to ther people?

This is something that’s been on my mind for nearly a year since one of the first talks I heard by Dr. Chaudhary as I started working on bringing his message online with S’eclairer last October. But in this case, we look at labels as a negative. When you look at mental health, as we often see it in media, you are a psychopath.  You are schizophrenic.  Dr. Chaudhary talks about how we (the doctors and social workers) need to keep from classifing these people in such a way.  Because they are people.  People with psychopathic disorders.  People with schizophrenia.  It’s very important in bringing them out of their condition.  If they see themselves as the condition, they’ll accept that as the case.

Well, that’s as far as I understand psychology via these talks and my art school Psych class…

But then I noticed a trend in the other direction.

I listen to a lot of Merlin Mann, who is most known for his 43folders site and neurotic examinations of how people get things done on Back to Work.  One of the common themes to the creative or independent worker is the trouble in just getting started.  I can relate to this.  You can relate to this.  There’s always something you were going to try to do someday but that day never came.  It comes back around to how you identify yourself.  And perhaps it’s something that will be the tipping point to motivate you.

Want to write that blog?  Want to be a blogger?  Be a blogger.  Don’t do it because it’s what needs done to get your blog up and get those hits and get people to see you and this and the other thing.  Just be.  And if it’s hard for you to just be a blogger, writer, dancer, then maybe it’s time to tuck that away and be someone else.  It’s when you don’t identify with that process that things come up, seemly all of the time, that are just that much more important than that goal.

Me?  For better or worse.  I’m a Podcaster.  I’m a Creator.  I don’t think about these things.  They become a part of me and what I do every day.  If I’m not creating something, I’m not doing my job and I’m not living.  Notice not making a living in that sentence.  Just living.  

What’s you’re label.  And are you being successful at being that?