BBM 10: Definitions, Labels, and Self-Awareness

This is a lively and sometimes controversial conversation with the amazing Amy Bliefnick.

In this episode I talk about my life as a labeler, self-labeler to be exact.

From a young age I began to unquestionably accept labels put on me by others, and allow them to shape my behaviors to fit them.

Then I started doing it myself.

I talk about how I not only accepted my labels but happily went about adding to them. Defining myself under the guise of self-awareness, into a static snapshot of a person.

Some of the labels I’ve carried are:
Bookworm, cerebral, cold, introvert, INTJ, PA, TA, cynic, empath, INFP, the list goes on.

I also talk openly about my neurological disorders, stemming from a traumatic brain injury, that I allowed to define my identity for a period of my life.

At some point, I reached my labeling limit, or maybe came to my senses, aided by a timely podcast by Jess Lively, where she discusses her theory of Tran-sensitivity, and moving beyond labels.

I began questioning whether all these labels were limiting who I was.

And more importantly, whether it was limiting who I could become?

Labels are based upon the past, and at the end of the day, if you can lose your self-definition, aren’t you free to become whoever you want to be, in any moment of time?

 

Show notes:

The Lively Show