Labels............

In a lifetime people have many labels that are put on them, either by themselves or by others.

Girl
Daughter
Sister
Wife
Mother
Nurse
Ex-wife
Step mom

These are but a few of the labels I have carried over the years. Each of these can be described further. I was either or Good Girl or a Bad Girl depending on the situation or the person involved. I was a Baby Sister, I suppose I still am in the eyes of my siblings. Perhaps I was considered more a Spoiled Baby Sister when I was younger. I was a good wife, an indifferent wife, a common-law wife. Each of those bring visions to your, the readers, minds of what that means to them. I am a Nurse, and even without the descriptors, that brings to mind certain visions of what that makes me.

Labels can be put on us by others, their judgements, their perceptions, their own experiences in their lives. These labels have the ability to make one feel less of a person. The more they are put on you, the more they can become true, if we let them. A self fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

There are many many negative labels I have put on myself. These are labels I need to start to shed.

chubby girl
old woman
not smart enough
not able to learn new things
unattractive
not well liked
not good enough

Those are just to name a few of the more prevalent ones. Those are the ones that seem to be weighing most heavily. I am going to explore in the next few posts, ways to shed those labels. Being told that I am not those things is not really the point of this exercise, it is learning to tell myself I am not those things, in hopes of truly believing I am not those things.

Here are some of the positives that I do believe about myself already, just so you don't think I am a depressed loser who doesn't at least see some self worth.

I am intelligent. I know I am intelligent.

I am a loyal friend. Sometimes to a fault. I held onto a dying relationship for probably two years too long, just to prove my loyalty. Even when my own self respect was being attacked by that relationship, I was loyal.

I am a fair and compassionate nurse. I treat all of my patients with the same level of compassion, no matter how sick or how irritating they may be.

I am a good mom. I am not the perfect parent, I don't believe there is such a beast. I am a good mom because I discipline my children, I love them and tell them I love them all of the time. I have rarely had opportunity over the years to co-parent my children with a spouse, since most of the time there has not been one either physically or mentally present in this home. I have always had to do all of the discipline, and all of the love. I have done it well.

Tell me some of your labels. Which ones are negative? What would you like to learn to shed? What are your positives??