Watch Out With Labels
This guest post was written by Carlos Miceli. Argentinian. Questioner of things. Carlos posts daily short posts at Owl Sparks and can also be found on twitter: @CarlosMic.
Labels are the downside about the “community” thing.
We as a culture feel the need to label everything: our clothing style, our musical preference, you name it. It’s worrying.
Sure, we do it to belong. To feel closer to one another. To separate ourselves from outsiders.
But here’s the problem:
Labels are limits.
We need to be part of something bigger, that’s ok.
The problem comes when our need for exclusion comes before our need for belonging.
People don’t realize how much they lose when they exclude those other labels as learning opportunities. How much they stop growing.
Don’t ever label yourself as anything that will limit you.
If there’s a label that’s worth the effort, is being open-minded.
My question for Carlos, and you guys, is – where is the line between labeling yourself for the purpose of belonging versus excluding? I label myself as a 20-something because I enjoy conversing with other 20somethings about life. This is not the say I won’t have a great conversation with a 35 year old. What do you think?
