How to Make Life Simple - Stop Naming Everything

Try Not to Label Everything

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

In this age we tend to name every feeling, emotion, and phenomenon instead of experiencing them for what they are. Sounds familiar? Well, we have all been there. I am guilty of doing it obsessively myself. But does it help? Rarely.

The self-help world (yes, it is like an entire different world today) has made us acutely aware of every little thought we have. We are consumed by the minute analysis we have about what we are thinking, why we are thinking it, what encouraged that thought, and so on. We completely forget the emotion or the situation we are dealing with and start focusing on something that might not need our immediate attention.

Self-help is not bad. We need it from time-to-time but not ALL the time. We are surrounded by so much of it that this type of thinking has become a second nature for most of us.

For example, let us say that you are a person who is into self help a lot. Think of a situation when you got angry. Now notice how you completely forgot that you were angry and your brain instantly switched to thoughts like why you were angry or what was making you angry and similar line of questions. But what I want you to notice instead is how as soon as you get angry, you start naming the emotions that you are feeling. Your anger isn’t just anger anymore. Maybe you are not angry but are frustrated because of the years of neglect that you have faced. Maybe you are disappointed because you have never really got what you wanted and this situation is the same. Maybe you feel unappreciated for all that you have done for others. Maybe you are insecure and not comfortable in your own skin...

See where I am going with this?

Instead of getting angry and then cooling off (like a normal person), you are now dwelling on the emotion in more harmful ways than you think. Instead of becoming mindful, you're overthinking now. Soon this becomes something of a habit and we all know what the impact of habits (especially bad ones) can have on us.

When something happens, good or bad, instead of allowing ourselves to feel it and live the moment, we start finding the words to describe it as if that is the most important thing to do. 

Let me explain. 

Ever went out to eat and at the first sight of the food, took out your phone, took a picture of the food and started thinking of the words that would accompany that picture? Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. Instead of relishing the food, you are looking for words.

Social Media has made even the simplest of us a person who is labelling everything. If you are happy, you are not just happy because, come on, how will your followers know how happy you are? So, you are not just happy anymore, you are elated, jubilant, ecstatic, on cloud nine, euphoric, you name it (pun intended). The moment or the event that made you feel that way is lost somewhere behind these words.

It is okay if you do not have the right word to describe your feeling. Feelings are supposed to be felt, not described. The intensity of your feeling is not attached to the word you use for that. Is it?

Leave finding the right words to writers. Only they need that kind of a vocabulary. The rest of us are pretty fine with simple words like happy and sad.

Conclusion

It is not wrong in any way to find the word that aptly describes your emotion. But we should not get so lost into those words that we forget what brought about those emotions and feelings in the first place. Let’s not make our lives more complicated than it already is. Let us make life simple, as it should be. Stop naming everything. If you are extremely happy and you use the word ‘happy’ for it, will it make any difference to your happiness? No. But it will keep your much needed attention in the moment and you will cherish it!