Many years ago, a man by the name of Bulfinch wrote a collection of stories which he called The Age of Fable. He wrote about gods and goddesses and other forms of mythology. Most of you have probably read some or all of his work at one point in your education. The book is an interesting piece of literature. Well, I vote that someone come up with The Age of Labels for the 1990's. Have you noticed that there is an awful lot of name dropping going on today? It doesn't seem to be as important the quality of the job you do as it is what you are called? Housewives have become intimidated in social circles when they are asked what they "do" when they respond "I'm just a housewife and mother." Obviously, being a housewife subjects a person to many skills and talents, and is very important in and of itself. There are some organizations, however, which have given the housewife a new name - "domestic engineer," which sounds like a creative homebody, and even one step farther, "houseperson" which sounds like something out of a science fiction novel!

What used to be known as a secretary is now often referred to as an "administrative assistant," and I know people who are highly incensed if you make the mistake of calling them anything other than their acceptable title. How about the people who go around emptying out your trash cans every week, they are now referred to as what, "refuse collectors"? If you didn't know better, you'd think they go around asking people if they might do something and when they refuse, the job is done! Or maybe they are akin to people who collect postage stamps or modern art. Hm?

Along with my peeve about being "politically correct" (and I only use the label here to illustrate a point), is the big game of trading business cards. Where did that come from all of a sudden? At one time, it was fashionable to present a card when you called upon someone at their home, with or without an invitation, but that standard died out a long time ago. Now we have "Let's Make a Deal" with business cards. It would seem that you aren't "anyone" if you are not important enough to have a business card to proffer when you meet someone at a conference, or even on the street! They even sell little billfolds specifically for business cards. I understand that there times and places where names and cards are appropriate, but I think they are both overused in general, and in many cases are related to self-esteem.

Why has it become more important to sound or appear important to other people? Has the self-esteem in this country gotten so low that we have to have an impressive title in order to feel worthwhile? I, for one, feel that this is a very sad state of affairs. Why can't we be accepted as the important individuals each of us are? Every one of us has special gifts and talents bestowed upon us when we are born, and some have been acquired along the way. We should be appreciated for those things without any smokescreens. If you take away all the labels of today's world, I think you'd find an awful lot in common with each other.

Maybe I'm one in a minority (no pun intended here - I'm not using any more illustrations!), but I've always believed that it's more important to feel good about yourself than worrying about how other people feel about you. A maxim that I've always followed is that you can't make other people happy if you are not happy with yourself. If you feel good about yourself and of what you are capable, you will do a good job and you will generate good will upon others. It doesn't matter whether or not you have an important title or make a lot of money or drive a fancy car. What matters is how you feel on the inside and how you treat yourself and other people. If you doubt your self worth, chances are you will not be very forthcoming with others. If you like yourself, however, you will tend to look favorably upon others.

I'm not knocking success. Striving to do and be better is something we all should do, but we need to remember who we truly are and how we got there. If we can be successful without hurting other people along the way, then it is a job well done. But if we have gained that title, or we dish out labels at the expense of someone else, then we need to assess our priorities. So the next time you catch yourself being impressed with someone's title or are handed another business card, take a minute to look past the labels and really see the person presenting them. Who knows, they may be someone a lot like you.

Robyn

email:porter@elite.net

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