It’s surprising how easily we are manipulated whenever someone calls us names.
Most of us recall our first time being called names as a kid and the intense need to push back against those who would label us.
It doesn’t get any easier as an adult.
Fear of being labeled as something undesirable can motivate us to go along with things we don’t really support for fear of appearing out of step with the crowd.
Worse still, this tactic can also be used to silence us at times when we really need to be speaking up.
Julien Blanc says the solution to taking the power out of another’s name-calling is to detach our self-worth from what others think.
This doesn’t mean showing up to work in your bathrobe.
It means knowing ourselves well enough that people can call us whatever they want, but we have sufficient self-worth to shrug off such comments because we know that we are enough.
We don’t need the name-caller’s approval because we’re not seeking validation through the eyes of others.
When we are secure in our self-worth, we can honestly tell our detractors, “Feel free to say whatever you want but I know who I am.”
When we have paid the price of understanding who we are and what we stand for, we become immune to name-calling and browbeating.
Those who try to manipulate us through labels will quickly learn that the buttons they are pushing are connected to nothing.
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