Yet simple labels also present a problem. They are simple because they are “all or nothing.” That works fine when we’re “all.” But when we get feedback that we are not all, we hear it as feedback that we are nothing. There’s no “partly all” or “sometimes all,” or “all, except for . . .” If we’re not good, we’re bad; if we’re not smart, we’re stupid; if not a saint, then a sinner.
