Is Your Label Trapping You?

Doris Schachenhofer, Access Consciousness FacilitatorIt all changed for me when I was a social worker and realized that it wasn’t only my clients — troubled teenagers, challenged adults and people with prison sentences — who were trapped by their life conditions and labels such as poor, uneducated, addict or criminal.I, too, was trapped in my role as mother and wife in a small country town, feeling isolated and depressed. My husband was unwilling to move, so to honor my truth I was forced to make a difficult decision, leaving the kids with their father in their country town home.There is so much judgement around how a mum “should” be, how a wife “should” be, and it all felt small and limited to me. I felt stuck, like I was in a cave and I wanted to have myself in my life and be happy again, for me and for the kids. It required a lot of courage and trust in myself, to protect myself against the judgement people project at me, my kids and my ex-husband. I adore them and without us all trying to fit into that narrow everyday stereotype of what family life should look like, there is an ease for us all that didn’t used to exist before. My kids are happy.Today, I travel the world helping people identify and let go of narrow labels, supporting people to be more of themselves and create a life that works for them.Some of my "Right Voice for You" program tips include:Tip 1: Connect with your bodyYour body is the instrument you are given to use while here on this planet. It’s the thing that produces your voice and through which all communication flows, so you need to have awareness of what is going on in it and be present to its needs.Tip 2: Don’t take life, or any one fixed idea, too seriouslyThe responsibility of living as a stereotype can feel very heavy. Bring humor into your life wherever possible. Maybe you can see every person you meet as a fun thing for you to play with — imagine them as comic book character, or whatever works for you to be able to be playful and have fun.Tip 3: Consider whether imperfect is the new perfect?We often have a fixed idea of how life would look like if it was “perfect.” That one idea can, however, be very limiting. This idea can also come with so many judgements on self and what it means to be right or wrong, which means the only thing you can ever do is fail. Accepting the perfectly imperfect you means that however you turn up in that moment is your new perfect. Whatever comes up is okay, because it’s the truth of who you are, and you’re allowed to be you.Tip 4: What if the truth of you is what the world actually needs?People often think the only things worth sharing involve a big and impressive story. We all have knowledge we think is normal, unspectacular and unimportant because it comes so easily. These things are your truth and make YOU who you are. Often, these are the things that the world needs to hear more of. The world needs more of you.I love the fast change that is possible with the Right Voice for You tools. It’s so beautiful to see people step into their potency, into their knowing, and into the truth of their own voice to find the courage to really be themselves. It opens up a whole new possibility for the world.