I am April. I can list a number of labels that would work. I am a woman. I am a mom. I am a daughter. I am a sister. I am a friend. I am a psychic. I am beautiful. I am loving. I am a divine expression of God. I am impatient. I am flawed. I am a certified Master Life Coach. I am a certified Master Hypnotist. I am a certified Master NLP Practitioner (among many other certifications). I am a Color Street Sales rep. I am grateful. I am perfectly imperfect. I am loved… I could go on and on, but I will end this paragraph with my favorite label of all… I am… Human.
The label of human is my favorite, because it is the thing that distinguishes this experience of life. In embracing this label, I am embracing the journey; all the imperfections. I am embracing the emotions, the experiences, the flaws and the foibles. I am embracing the joy, the sadness, the pain and the peace. It is only in this human form that we get to experience this taste of life.
Think about it. It is such an important experience that Jesus Christ, son of God, actually came down to partake. Depending on where you sit in your theology, some believe that there was an actual war in heaven where the battle raged for the opportunity to come and experience it. Others believe that through this life, our expressions and experiences are experienced by God himself.
Every human who ever has or ever will grace this planet will take upon themselves many labels. Do these labels determine our value? Do they determine our worth? Do they determine our experience? They could. And depending on the energy we give those labels and how strongly we identify with them, those labels can impact our life experience by raising or lowering our vibration.
Labels change with time. When I was younger, I would say, “I am a child. I am a teenager. I am a student. I am ____’s friend.” Today I will say I am married, but very soon, that label will change. I will no longer be somebody’s wife. I will no longer be able to say, “I’ve been married for 25 years.” This label change is one of the hardest for me. So much of my identity for the last 2 1/2 decades has been tied to being a “caretaker, a wife, a home maker;” to being married to someone who is disabled and all of the meaning that held.
Somewhere along the line I forgot who I was. I am not my labels. My value does not come from the labels I assign to myself. My value is intrinsic.
How many of us have found ourselves in a rut, where the label no longer fits? When you introduce yourself, listen to how you describe yourself. Are you your name? Are you the label you present? Which of the labels do you want to keep? Which do you want to release?
While changing labels might not be the easiest thing to do, it is possible. A mind shift is necessary. Sometimes that shift comes with affirmations. Listen to the thing you say most, “I am _____.” I hear things like I’m too busy. I’m stressed. I’m tired. I’m depressed. I’m overwhelmed…
What kind of message are you giving your life if those are the labels you give it? Try saying what you want instead…
- I am occupied by things I love.
- I am easily able to handle the things that come my way.
- I take care of myself and get plenty of rest.
- I am happy.
- I am grateful.
- I’ve got this!!
In the beginning, these things may feel like lies. But really, the thing that will differentiate the truth from the lies is how often you speak it.
There is an old adage in the Law of Attraction that what we focus on expands. This is absolutely true. Think of the last time you got a new car. How many of those cars did you start seeing on the road?
I bought a Chevrolet HHR back in March. I had never even heard of the car before. I didn’t recognize it. I honestly didn’t remember ever seeing one before. One day I went out to do a test drive for a job I was working. The sales person looked at my car. He said, “I haven’t seen one of those in years. You just don’t see HHRs anymore.” My thought was, “exactly. I love that I have a unique car.”
Not 2 days later, I saw my first HHR other than my own. Now… not only do I see HHRs everywhere, I see orange HHRs, maroon HHRs, white HHRs, charcoal HHRs… I see blue and purple.. I think I have seen every color of the rainbow.
One day, I had driven a long way to do a job and there was a storm. I had to manually turn my headlights on. I forgot to turn them off and went in to work. When I finished the job and came out 5 1/2 hours later, I went to start my car… no dice. Nothing was working… and then it dawned on me what I had done. The only reason this story has any place here is because of all the cars in the world, what was the one who offered to help me? An HHR. The people parked next to me even commented, “Whoa. He has the same car as you.”
This story might not seem like it is related, however, the same way that car started appearing everywhere, so can the proof of “I am loved.” “Life is easy.” “I am blessed.” “I am amazing.” Those affirmations once brought intentionally into the front will start showing themselves practically in your life.
Ready for a reframe? Start taking a moment to intentionally flip life’s situations. Change the label. It’s simple. It may not be easy, but it is simple. And sometimes the simple things can make all the difference. There is a saying that comes to mind quite often: “Through small and simple things, great things shall come to pass.”
This is the story of my life. This is my mantra. The things that seem to be the least significant have the greatest impact on the world. Pay attention. Watch where you are putting the labels. Watch how accurate those labels are, and start switching them up. You label your life. Make those labels mean something that gives you the best possible experience.