Human minds are quite complex, but they also need to use simplifications. One of the most common ways of simplifying things is to label them. You know, like “oh, that’s someone from political studies, I bet she is [insert your favorite trope about politics students]”. It’s a really easy way of making observing the world simpler. Just connect a lot of labels that you encounter often enough to attributes and actions people from those categories typically exhibit or do. Leftists bashing rich people, Christian conservatives bashing gays, scientists not doing anything with actual impact, etc.
Of course, this is also a really bad thing to do. In the extreme, by allowing the labels to completely take over we become racists, fascists, communists, or just generally inconsiderate people that define other people through their labels. This is a bad thing itself, and we should naturally avoid it. However, so much has been said about this that I don’t think I can bring anything new into the picture. That’s why I want to flip the concept over, and talk about discriminating against yourself.
Just as we apply the labels to other people, we also apply to ourselves. For example, depending on the social environment and my past few weeks of successes – or lack thereof – I tend to perceive myself as a friend, scientist, runner, philosopher, blogger, reader, boyfriend, family, or whatever is important in the current context. But they’re all labels.
Of course, this is also a really bad thing to do. In the extreme, by allowing the labels to completely take over we become racists, fascists, communists, or just generally inconsiderate people that define other people through their labels. This is a bad thing itself, and we should naturally avoid it. However, so much has been said about this that I don’t think I can bring anything new into the picture. That’s why I want to flip the concept over, and talk about discriminating against yourself.
Just as we apply the labels to other people, we also apply to ourselves. For example, depending on the social environment and my past few weeks of successes – or lack thereof – I tend to perceive myself as a friend, scientist, runner, philosopher, blogger, reader, boyfriend, family, or whatever is important in the current context. But they’re all labels.
Labels are a bit like multiple personalities, just not as strong.
The labels are useful in helping me to have a sense of self in the context, allowing me to focus on certain part of myself. Who am I in relation to these people? Why am I here? These are questions we hardly ever ask, because we answer them implicitly through the application of labels. But there’s a crucial question that should not be answered with a label: what should I do?
It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that “well, I’m the junior in this group, so I should carry the most burden here, working long into the night” or that “well, I’m a professional banker so I can’t really do painting seriously”. When we apply labels to ourselves too indiscriminately and without thinking, we end up constraining ourselves. Instead of spending time learning Javascript during evenings, we may apply the label of a humanist and discard programming as something that humanists just don’t do (which is false, by the way).
It’s true that Javascript may not be the most important thing for an art scholar, for example. But that’s no reason to discard it offhand with simple label identity. Instead, it would be better to evaluate things on their own merits. Sure, if I can’t see programming as anything useful or interesting, I probably am better off doing something else, instead. But if I have a strong interest it – but no obvious usage – it might make sense to give it a try. Who knows what might come out of it? In fact, combinations of different fields are becoming ever more valuable these days.
The point is very simple here: don’t let labels define your actions. Stopping that from happening, that’s the hard part. It’s difficult to notice the implicit labels, because we do it so unconsciously. But if you ask yourself “why am I doing this?” and find yourself answering that “because that’s who I am”, then that’s a definite warning sign.
It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that “well, I’m the junior in this group, so I should carry the most burden here, working long into the night” or that “well, I’m a professional banker so I can’t really do painting seriously”. When we apply labels to ourselves too indiscriminately and without thinking, we end up constraining ourselves. Instead of spending time learning Javascript during evenings, we may apply the label of a humanist and discard programming as something that humanists just don’t do (which is false, by the way).
It’s true that Javascript may not be the most important thing for an art scholar, for example. But that’s no reason to discard it offhand with simple label identity. Instead, it would be better to evaluate things on their own merits. Sure, if I can’t see programming as anything useful or interesting, I probably am better off doing something else, instead. But if I have a strong interest it – but no obvious usage – it might make sense to give it a try. Who knows what might come out of it? In fact, combinations of different fields are becoming ever more valuable these days.
The point is very simple here: don’t let labels define your actions. Stopping that from happening, that’s the hard part. It’s difficult to notice the implicit labels, because we do it so unconsciously. But if you ask yourself “why am I doing this?” and find yourself answering that “because that’s who I am”, then that’s a definite warning sign.
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