This is marvelous, Henny: “That may be the real thing labels steal from us: not just curiosity about other people, but curiosity about the names we have learned to answer to. Given enough time, a label can become so familiar that it starts to feel like a fact.” Thanks for writing this. 👌
This piece reminds me that it’s always important to allow people to surprise us - sometimes it’s for the worse, but it’s wonderful when they surprise us for the better.
Got some writing on John Mantuszak coming up? If so I’ll refrain from hitting up Wikipedia
That’s kinda like the shorthand version of his label. But as I was talking about in the piece, that’s a little deceiving. There is a lot of nuance in his story.
Great and thought-provoking piece. To answer your question, when I was part of a community garden, someone decided to call me the Compost Queen. I did not care for the title. I was just trying to do my part to care for the compost bin.
Man oh man, what a post. At the hospital, part of the on-boarding training is trying to adjust some of the questions we ask about the kids we work with. One of those reframing exercises is to not ask "What's wrong with you?" but ask "What happened to you?" Saying some of these kids are difficult is an understatement, and many of them do act horribly, but understanding the story behind it often helps you empathize. I definitely earned my label as "burnout" or "druggie" when I was younger, but there was definitely more behind it, and I'm grateful that some people were curious enough to try to see behind the label. Once again, great post, Henny!
This is marvelous, Henny: “That may be the real thing labels steal from us: not just curiosity about other people, but curiosity about the names we have learned to answer to. Given enough time, a label can become so familiar that it starts to feel like a fact.” Thanks for writing this. 👌
Appreciate it Mike 👊🏼
Brilliant selection. That stood out to me too.
Thanks Moorea!!!
Great read Henny
Appreciate it William!!
This piece reminds me that it’s always important to allow people to surprise us - sometimes it’s for the worse, but it’s wonderful when they surprise us for the better.
Got some writing on John Mantuszak coming up? If so I’ll refrain from hitting up Wikipedia
Have at wiki. I’m writing a book on him, but it’s a ways away from publication. He’s fascinating.
Wow yeah fascinating is the word! Looks like he never quite lived up to his potential in the NFL?
That’s kinda like the shorthand version of his label. But as I was talking about in the piece, that’s a little deceiving. There is a lot of nuance in his story.
Appreciate you reading and commenting!
Great and thought-provoking piece. To answer your question, when I was part of a community garden, someone decided to call me the Compost Queen. I did not care for the title. I was just trying to do my part to care for the compost bin.
Thanks Moorea!!!
Yeah that’s not a cool one. Hopefully it didn’t catch on.
Man oh man, what a post. At the hospital, part of the on-boarding training is trying to adjust some of the questions we ask about the kids we work with. One of those reframing exercises is to not ask "What's wrong with you?" but ask "What happened to you?" Saying some of these kids are difficult is an understatement, and many of them do act horribly, but understanding the story behind it often helps you empathize. I definitely earned my label as "burnout" or "druggie" when I was younger, but there was definitely more behind it, and I'm grateful that some people were curious enough to try to see behind the label. Once again, great post, Henny!
I can't imagine all of the skills it takes to be a good coach. You have my admiration.
By the way, using the image of my body for that AI-baseball picture is unacceptable, and you'll be hearing from my lawyer.