Before You Called Yourself Anything

 

Most people move through life wearing words they didn’t choose.

Responsible.
Behind.
Ambitious.
Too much.
Not enough.

These labels start as descriptions.
They slowly become constraints.

At some point, identity stops being something you notice
and starts being something you protect.

You behave in ways that are “on brand”.
You avoid things that would contradict the story.
You correct yourself before anyone else has to.

But before any of that,
there was just experience.

Preference.
Curiosity.
Aversion.
Rest.
Movement.

No explanation required.

Identity without labels feels unfamiliar at first.
Not because it’s empty —
but because it’s unmanaged.

There’s no narrative to maintain.
No version of yourself to defend.

This is why no judgment matters so much here.
Judgment immediately turns experience into identity.
It asks: What does this say about me?

Without that question,
life becomes simpler.

You do what fits.
You stop doing what doesn’t.
You adjust without self-interrogation.

This isn’t about losing yourself.
It’s about meeting yourself before the naming.

Before you were organised into something.
Before you were explained.

That version of you is still here.
Still responsive.
Still intact.

Nothing needs to be added back.
Only loosened.

---

You were whole
before you were described.