People and systems put us in boxes. Too often it’s convenient and in their interests, making their lives easier and allowing systems to operate with less friction.

After all, it’s cognitively tiring to re-evaluate people and our own biased judgements time and time again. 

But people are complex, diverse, and transcend the simplistic categorisations we gravitate towards using for them. 

Boxes can undoubtedly be useful, but if you notice pressures to neatly define and categorise elements of your life, at least ask who is actually being served by it before you get in and let them tape it shut. 

What’s more, we can avoid being the person who tapes it shut on others. 

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The Thoughts of Others

“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” – Virginia Woolf