All in How We Name It

You may have heard the story of the person who wanted to give away a litter of kittens. Try as he might, there were no takers. On a hunch, he then put up a sign that said "Kittens- $10 each". They sold almost immediately.
The psychology behind this concept is that when the kittens were free they were looked upon as having no value... putting the dollar amount on them convinced people that they had value. Our brains respond to labels more convincingly than what we may realize. The marketing field is well aware of this. Why is one pair of jeans, labeled such and so, "worth" five times more than another pair made exactly the same way of exactly the same material?

A similar idea holds true in regard to what we name a feeling. If we have butterflies in our stomach and tell our self we are "anxious" our mind will take that at face value and we will believe we are anxious and react accordingly. Not a good thing. If however, we were to be in the same situation and label the butterflies as a result of our feeling "eager" or "excited" we would be convinced that this is a good thing. In fact, in interviewing world famous athletes competing for the Olympics, it was asked what they did to calm their nerves.

Can you guess what they answered? They labeled that butterfly in the stomach feeling as energy. And with it being "energy" they could now use it for a competitive edge, rather than having it distract them from their event because they were "nervous".

How do you label the challenges that you face? The way our brains work, our subconscious mind believes what we tell it. Not only that but the subconscious, being the real powerhouse of our mind, will take that label and manifest it many times over. Be kind in how you name your errors as well as your personal attributes. You will believe whatever label you tell yourself and act accordingly. What you believe to be true - is true. Whether it's about kittens, jeans, or your self.

Put some stickers in places that you will often see them: the rear view mirror of your car, on your cell phone, your computer screen, etc. Every time you see that sticker let it remind you to label yourself as valuable and deserving of love.

Because it is true.

Until next time,
Dr. DyAnn