Entitled and lazy. Is this you? Are these the labels that you have? I recently read an article about Millennials. It was not very complimentary, with recurring themes of entitlement and laziness. Who, I wondered, are these dreadful people?
It turns out that Millennials are those born between 1981 and 1996, and it seems that being born between those years makes you, according to some, the “worst generation”. I then thought about all of the people that I know who were born during those years. They all seem hard-working, they all seem to be living decent lives, and they are the generation that is being priced out of the housing market, saddled with debt from university, and unlikely to retire before they are 70.
It got me thinking about labels, the limits that labels can place upon us, and the generalisations that tend to come with labels. Is every person born between 1981 and 1996 entitled and lazy? I somehow doubt it, and I can think of plenty of people who are not Millennials who are perhaps more deserving of such negative labels.
The power of the label is, though, undeniable. All too often we self-label or allow others to label us without really thinking about what that means. Do the labels we acquire properly define who we are, or do we simply accept them because that is what we do? And does it matter? In short, it does. It matters a lot. Labels can and do limit us, just as they can liberate and redefine us. Our labels lead us to miss out on opportunities. They reduce our chances and shrink our worlds. Equally, labels can give us the confidence to become and be more. They give us the option to be differently.
Think about your own labels. What do they mean to you? And what do they mean to others? Is the label defining you, or are you defining the label? And remember, only you can write your own labels. If you need help redefining your labels and redesigning who you are, book an initial consultation here. It’s all about taking the first steps, and you know that you can change your labels and yourself at any time, don’t you?
