Why You Are Your Worst Bully
Stop labeling yourself.
“Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined.”
― Toni Morrison
Don’t let a bully’s labels define you — defy them.
Earlier this week, Monica Lewinski made the headlines for leading a new anti-bullying campaign. She knows how it feels being called names publicly. The former White House intern was referred as ‘that woman’ during Bill Clinton’s impeachment.
Lewinski has become a powerful and brave activist — the labels and bullying couldn’t stop her.
The #DefyTheName campaign wants to disarm name calling. This reminded me of self-criticism — labeling is something we do to ourselves too.
What happens when we are the ones bullying ourselves?
Self-bullying is more harmful than being bullied by others — it’s impossible to stand up to external criticism if you can’t stop your own attacks.
Labels Are Anything but Random
“We contain multitudes.” — Walt Whitman
Our brain is wired to take shortcuts — that’s why we love labels.
Early survival depended on the ability to see patterns in randomness. Our ancestors needed…
