How labeling affects our life?

Once an experiment was done on children .They were asked to play monopoly for fun. They really enjoyed this “play” until one day they were told they will be paid for playing it. They never enjoyed playing monopoly again. It became “work”.

What has changed? What changed is their mental disposition; the way they labeled their time. At first it was a “play” now a “work”.

The way we label things affects the way we experience them.

You are dreaming to spend your weekend in a mountain house. You took with you some books, music and movies in order to spend a nice time in the nature. You are delighted and so happy. Suddenly a storm raged in the mountain but you weren’t disturbed at all. You have plenty of things to enjoy your time. In addition, you can now watch the storm from the window.

The big storm forced a man to knock on your door to ask for a shelter. You surely said yes, but you became gloomy. This “intruder” has just spoiled your privacy. Despite being usually a very friendly man who likes to be around people, you are so unhappy to have an “intruder” breaking your privacy. You are frustrated, down and little talkative. You just want him away. Despite his tentative for being kind you didn’t appreciate anything coming from his part: He is just forcing himself on you. You are not enjoying any minute of the remaining time in the mountain. When the storm went by, the man excused himself and said goodbye: “If you ever need anything please give me a call” he said while handling you his visiting card. You murmured few words and let him go. After a while, you looked at the visiting card. You were surprised to see that this person was exactly the same person you were trying to get from an important business meeting. Surly when you meet him again you will be very sweet and charming with “your prospective client”. You may even enjoy your time with him find few things to praise him for. Your attitude towards him had totally changed. What changed is your preconceived label: It shifted from “intruder” to “prospective client”.

“Labeling” is a pre-judgment we make towards something before we start experiencing it. This preconceived judgment affects our whole experience because we live it through the biased perspective of our labeling, not as it is.

We have too many labels in our life. Practically towards every usual work we do. For example, let us take our work. How do you label it? Read the following story to know how labeling affects your work experience:

3 workmen were building a church. When asked what they were doing, the first one said: I am working for the damn money; the second one said: I am working to sustain my family; the third one said: I am building a beautiful church for people to come and celebrate the creation.

The first one labeled unconsciously his work as a core, the second as a duty, and the third as a creation. As such, everyone is experiencing his work in a different way.

Labels are preconceived mental attitude toward things we are experiencing. From now on, if you are experiencing a negative experience just ask yourself what kind of labels are you using. Maybe you can find the solution inside your own mind.

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