Elio Osejo and Sarah Ellen Roberts had us thinking about labels that others impose on us, but what about the labels we have for ourselves?

I usually visit the local bakery in the morning to buy non-fresh bread (because they don’t make bread until the afternoons – what’s up with that?)

Some mornings, my favorite bakery has no bread at all. Heading over to a local family-owned corner shop, I ask if they have bread.

“Chino o francés?” the plump store lady asks me. Chinese or French?

“Oh, I’m Chinese,” I say.

She was talking about the type of bread I wanted.

Besides feeling ashamed that I was so full of myself, the incident had me thinking about our instant reactions to labels and how we identify ourselves.

• Dreamer or doer?
• Thinker or feeler?
• Answerer or questioner?
• Encourager or energizer?
• Influencer or supporter?
• Nurturer or enabler?
• Hoarder or chucker?

What are some labels you may unconsciously and automatically identify with? Are you hearing only what you want to hear? Are these labels hindering your growth or empowering you?