It’s Time To Let Go Of Self-Limiting Labels

We all have a certain sense of self. We have an identity that we painted for ourselves. A bunch of labels we cling to. “I am this and I am that. I love this, I dislike this. I fear this. Oh, I wouldn’t do that.” And we keep repeating these things to ourselves until they stick, until we really construct an identity for ourselves, one that is predictable, because we ultimately want to feel comfortable. We want to feel safe. We want to know where to draw the lines.

However, oftentimes people start focusing too much on themselves, on the labels they put on themselves, on limiting beliefs, making them shrink day by day. While we all need an identity, because through it we perceive the world and contribute to it, I invite you to be more flexible and to afford to take a little more risk, which could involve shedding skin from time to time. We could afford to let go of past selves and reconstruct them over and over again.

You really are a project, and identity is quite a fluid thing. Who you are is truly endless, and when you dissolve the ego, you can begin to enjoy the freedom that comes with it. Say, for instance, you want to give a Ted Talk, but all you think of is how foolish you might look and how everyone will be so focused on you and will find it uninteresting and how it will end up being so embarrassing and the thought of it all frightens you so you choose to never give it a shot. In that moment, your ego wants to keep you safe within your comfort zone, and on top of that, you come to the conclusion that you will be a crappy public speaker.

But what if you decided not to give in? What if you decide to not be rigid, to float freely, to try those fearful things, those things you decided don’t fit you without ever really trying them? The things you see others doing despite the fear and the people they evolve into. People who dissolve their egos, who don’t always listen to it religiously, are more about living openly than focusing on being safe and perfect. And let me tell you, even if you get hurt or embarrassed here and there, it is nothing but an indication that you have tried and that is honorable.

In a world where everybody is actually focused on themselves, absorbed in their own head, thinking everyone is paying so much attention to them, perhaps we can conclude that we could afford to be a little less self-conscious and a little braver so that life could become a beautiful adventure rather than a prison disguised as a shelter.