A few months ago, I started taking labels off of things in my house.
It started with my hand soap, because the label was peeling off anyways, and some of
my hair was stuck to the corner of the sticker...
It was kind of gross actually, so I'm going to spare you that, but just know that
IT HAD TO GO.
The bottle was smoked plastic with a matte finish, so the label pulled off really easily
and made a satisfying sound.
[rip!]
I noticed that my shower gel bottle was the same kind of matte plastic, so
I peeled the label off of that too.
[rip!]
It gave my bathroom a kind of clean, brandless, Muji look, which I really like.
Except...
Muji IS a brand, so I guess that doesn't really make sense...?
But I wasn't being advertised to inside my own bathroom anymore.
So I proceeded to pull the labels off of other things in my apartment.
Some labels pulled off really easily but others not so much -
I just left them on because there's no point if it's not going to
make a cool sound when I pull it off.
Man, this metaphor is completely convoluted and ridiculous.
What I really want to talk about are the labels that we put on ourselves.
I have always associated myself with the labels of sweet tooth, sugar addict,
night owl, lone wolf, and perfectionist.
At some point in my life, I took pride in these labels - I plastered them onto myself.
Lately though, it feels like these labels have been holding me back: keeping me unhealthy,
keeping me unproductive.
Keeping me from moving forward.
I wish I could just peel the labels off of myself - with a satisfying sound -
[rip!]
and re-label myself with something that's a bit more beneficial.
[James Clear speaking:] "Your habits are the way that you embody a particular identity."
James Clear is the author of a book called "Atomic Habits"
I'm a big fan - his is probably the best book on habit-forming that I've read,
and believe me, I've read most of them.
[James Clear speaking:] "So every morning that you make your bed, you embody the habits"
"of - you embody the identity of an organized person, someone who's clean."
"Every time you go to the gym, you embody the identity"
"of someone who's fit..."
"And so in that sense, habits are like -"
"every action you take is kind of like a vote for the type of"
"person that you believe that you are,"
"and as you take these actions, you build up"
"evidence of a particular identity."
We do have control over these self-appointed and self-adopted labels or "identities" as
James Clear calls them.
And of course, not all identities are bad - not all labels NEED to be changed -
but it's good to take a look once in a while and make sure that the way you are labeling
yourself fits and aligns with the identity that you want to have.
So I've decided to take responsibility for and control over my own self-appointed labels
and reconfigure them a bit.
I'm only starting to do this with myself - I'm no longer a sweet-tooth.
I'm a romaine-lover.
I mean, c'mon guys.
Caesar salad - need I say more?
Talk about "satisfying sound!"
[lettuce crunches]
Thus, I've decided to edit my labels:
"Sweet-tooth" is now "Romaine-lover."
"Sugar-addict" --> "Self-care Addict."
"Night owl" --> "Morning person"
"Lone Wolf" --> "Introvert"
"Perfectionist" --> "Realistic and Self-Loving"
These are the labels with which I dub myself today.
And yeah, I'm not qualified in them just YET.
I don't feel completely comfortable in them just YET,
but I've vow to solidify these identities with myself through my daily actions.
So if you consider yourself to be a minimalist, or an essentialist,
an intentionalist, a simple-living-ist, or a pack rat,
just make sure that you're looking at these identities and double-checking that that label
is what you really want to be,
and make sure that your daily actions are aligned to help solidify that identity.
'til next time!
[click!]