Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.
Frank Borman

Words are our tools. They are the tools of our trade, as bloggers, as consultants, as community organizers, as coaches, as wives, husbands, sisters, brothers… as neighbors.  No matter the field we work in, we use jargon and language that either uplifts  or destroys.  It either recognizes and enhances  or it creates deficit and contributes to the sense of human misery.  

 Words do not mirror our world– they  help create it.

  I hate labels. They kill what I think is  our natural  curiosity for exploration and discovery. This quest for new possibilities, that fabulous place of  being in a state of unknowing. Its the sweet spot where you have both  wonder and a willingness to learn. That is where the magic happens. It implies an openness to change  and for growth. There are people who have not seen me  in 20 years, but still think they know who I am.  There are people whom I have not seen in 20 years that I think I know who they are?  How crazy is that? Neither of us  have  let go of old language, old visions or life long labels.  

What life long labels  have you embraced about yourself or your organization?  I have so many, let me count the ways. Which  labels  have you let go? Again, I  have so many, let me count the ways.  

Release the labels…..Explore and Discover

 This is a learning process for organizations as well as for individuals. Seldom do we search  explore or study what we already know. Nor do we ask questions about  areas unfamiliar to us. The act of inquiry requires  curiosity and openness to new possibilities, new directions and new understandings. We cannot have all the answers or  be certain when we are engaged  in exploration. That is what kills us as human-our fear. The spirit of inquiry is the spirit of learning. It is a process of Conscious Evolutionthat lead to transformative outcomes. In my case it brought me  new relationships, collaborations and alliances that I could have never imagined possible. 

Invest in exploration and discovery.  Respect the act of inquiry and let go of labels that no longer serve.

The process is transformative.