Why do we ‘buy into’ labels?

A label is a classification. We choose to label ourselves and others.

 Common labels are – smart, attractive, successful, motivated, lazy, rude, shy, and anxious.

Positive labels increase our self-esteem and negative labels decrease our self-esteem.

Believing a label - positive or negative is a choice.

We ‘buy into’ positive labels because it creates a healthy emotional response helping us to feel more capable and confident.

With negative labels we choose to ‘buy in’ because we personalize the label. This is an impulsive response that makes us feel incapable and we doubt our ability to succeed – which decreases our self- esteem.

What labels do you choose to wear?