Message of the Day - Facts not Labels

Good Morning,

 

A tendency we find ourselves doing from time to time is putting a label on a person, a place, a thing or an event. For example, if you are part of a group that has a monthly meeting, you may refer to it as the ‘boring’ meeting or the ‘fun’ meeting. In this action, you have labeled the meeting. When you talk about it, you give that label to others. The same is true when you label people and things. That ‘boring’ or ‘fun’ person is a label. So are less pleasant words.

 

Labels can demean and diminish people, places, things and events. Labels also short-change others on understanding whatever is labeled because of the label itself. Sometimes those labels are accurate, like I don’t like that ‘messy’ store. A family may not want to bring their children to a ‘messy’ store, but if the store were in the middle of inventory or an other one time event, and is now clean, that family may never know what value that store may have for them, because until they see it for themselves, or hear from others, they will envision that ‘messy’ store and pass on ever going there.

 

Facts on the other hand can convey the same information, without conveying a label. Sure, folks listening to the facts may put the label on for themselves, but that is the point, they make the decision for themselves, they don’t have it handed to them. Using facts instead of labels with our neighborhood store, you may hear ‘the store was a bit messy’. This may sound awfully similar to ‘messy store’ but it is really different.

 

Putting this in action:  ‘that angry person’ or ‘the person was angry’.  The first labels the person as always being angry, and the second shows a person who was angry at that time, which happens to all of us from time to time.

 

When describing people, places, things and events, use facts, and try not to label. This way you convey your thoughts, but not a label which limits how others will think and feel about those same things.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/  ß Check out the new Blog site

502-533-9336

 

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