Can We Reverse a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?
Don’t let your labels clip your wings
“Too often we are boxed in by expectations, by the sense that we have a specific role or function to fulfill. Often in families, children are given a label, the “responsible” child, the “jokester”, the “rebel”. When we give children a name, they play the game”. Dr. Edith Eger introduces us to the idea of labels and the damage they cause, in her book The Gift.
Picture this, a room awash with colorful teeshirts, bobbing up and down to loud and cheerful music. Over one hundred bodies, singing and moving freely. Laughing, exchanging eye contact, and smiling in unity. One single organism remains seated in her chair, transfixed by her book. Ignoring the mayhem engulfing her.
Victoria
Victoria is a 10-year-old girl, she is old beyond her years. She is intelligent, academic, sensible, responsible, well-read, and polite. Yet, with her peers she can be a know-it-all, she is dismissive of their silly ideas. She seems unwilling to stoop to their level. Victoria is perfectly capable of arguing her case on world politics and social justice. But she is a child, why isn’t she childlike? Conversely, Victoria’s 7-year-old sister; Emily, is cheeky, loud, gregarious, bossy, stroppy, mischievous, and chaotic.
