Pop-psychology labels are pernicious and limiting. Low self-esteem for example, is a handy label for those who want to judge others. It is not so useful when judging yourself. (If you read this blog regularly you’ll know that I’m not a fan of labels because they tend to stick.)

There are others: attention-seeking, narcissistic, work-shy, in-denial, commitment-phobic, hyperactive, lazy… It’s a long list and we are all in there somewhere, in someone else’s view. Incidentally, have you noticed that they are never flattering?

A label is only one person’s impression of another, at a given moment. It is not a reasonable reflection of who they actually and how they generally behave. People who use labels like this imply (and often believe, more’s the pity), that they understand something deep and meaningful about the person. Of course they don’t.

Of course, labels have their uses, but beware when they are taken as a description of a person. A pop-psychology label  may carry with it the stamp of knowledge or scientific understanding, but it actually reveals misunderstanding and betrays the user as not very capable in their thinking. Snap judgements come easily. It takes time and effort to look behind the label.

The same thing happens when we use a pop-psychology label to describe ourselves; because labels adhere so easily we carry them around as if they describe who we are. We therefore limit who we are and, needless to say, this is not a helpful process.

Pigeon-holing people with labels is a lazy way of thinking about them. Any time I hear a label my knee-jerk reaction is to judge the person using it as short-sighted and bigoted (in that moment, you understand, I’m not labelling them).

Look out for labels, they do more harm than good.If you are in the habit of labelling yourself, stop it now!

As for me, I’m in denial about my own label of ‘a lazy, attention-seeking, narcissistic, work-shy, jack-of-all-trades pensioner’.