The hidden barrier that limits our true potential

Written by Alex Poeter

Here is an idea I want to share with you that’s had a profound impact on me and the people I’ve worked with. And this idea is about letting go of labels we’ve become identified with. Labels include any beliefs we have about ourselves that feel limiting to us, such as “I’m an anxious person”, “I’m not articulate enough”, “I’m disorganized”, “I’m not good with money”, “I’m always late”, “I’m not creative”, or “I’m not athletic”.

And I’m not saying that we don’t experience the symptoms that are associated with these kinds of labels and conditions. What I am inviting you to consider is that when we’re attached to and identified with labels like this, we’re much more likely to keep the conditions or behaviors that are associated with those labels in place. We’re more likely to keep embodying the labels through our actions and behaviors without even questioning if we have another choice.

What if instead of "living into a label" and becoming fully identified with it, we could just be with the experience we're having and consider the possibility of its impermanence? I've found that the more we keep living into and embodying a label that someone else has put on us or that we've adopted, the more it becomes an integral part of our identity.

If we can recognize the labels we’re identified with and how those might be impacting our self-perception, we can start to question their validity and decrease the power they have over us. This opens us up to greater possibility. As a result, we no longer allow labels to define us -- we free ourselves from their entrapment so that we can create completely new experiences.

If this resonates with you, I’d invite you to reflect on the following questions:

What labels do you identify with that might be limiting you?

What do you think would be possible if those labels weren’t true?

What would you do differently if you didn’t accept the labels that feel limiting to you as absolute truth?

I know these are big questions, and they might stir up some resistance or defensiveness from the conditioned mind. And that’s ok. This is about opening ourselves up to the possibility that there is a life beyond the labels we’ve grown so familiar with, so that we can expand into a greater version of ourselves. Are you open to taking this step towards a greater version of you?