You Don't Bring a Name Tag to a Knife Fight

Why Dyslexia Isn't The Enemy


Think back to when you were born.

I don't mean literally….

Think of it conceptually. 

What were you on day one? 

You were someone's everything. 

A bundle of joy and possibility. 

You were, above all else, a name.

Not a diagnosis or a learning difference.

A purposefully chosen name.

That stayed true for years. 

You crawled, walked, talked, drove people crazy and made them laugh….

All as a human being with a name. 

Dyslexia may have been there the whole time, but it wasn't you yet.

Then came evaluations, a diagnosis and the label.

And somewhere in that process, dyslexia stopped being a way to describe how your brain works and it became who you are.

What if what's holding you back isn't your dyslexia, but your relationship to it?

WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

My Name Is Hello GIF

Think about your blood type.

It's also biological and affects you in specific situations. 

It describes something important about your physiology, but it isn't you.


You’d never walk into a room and say “Hi I’m O Positive"

Just like you’d never walk into a room introducing yourself as, “Hello I’m Dyslexic”. 

You always lead with your name. 

But what if somewhere along the way, dyslexia stopped being a description and became the lens?

There are two patterns we fall into.

The first is quiet, we say "It's because I'm dyslexic" when things get tough.

And as much as that’s true, when this becomes the full answer, it completely shuts the door on growth. 

The second pattern feels like effort.

We might try another planner, new productivity apps or more hacks. 

Or dive deep into famous dyslexics, success stories and social media swearing your superpower is just around the corner.

But why then, do you feel pretty much the same after years of trying?

Mentally, you're still foggy, emotionally you're still on high alert and professionally, you're still anxious about the future.

One path shuts down while the other stays busy.

But both lead to the same place where nothing changes.

Dyslexia’s never been the enemy.

Hiding inside it is.

The label stops describing you and starts defining you.

This fight is 100% real.

Dyslexia is a daily battle. 

But what if you’ve been bringing a name tag to a knife fight? 

MULTIPLIED

Breathe Mental Health GIF by INTO ACTION

So if not the name tag (label) then what? 

Mental health.

Not as a catch phrase or a suggestion to “talk to someone”.

But as the most practical tool available to a dyslexic adult ready for change. 

 

Think about what's happening inside.

  • Anxiety reduces working memory capacity

  • Shame drives avoidance

  • Chronic stress amplifies every challenge dyslexia already creates

Which means if dyslexia is already taxing your system and you're running a dysregulated nervous system on top of that, you're not just dealing with dyslexia anymore…

You're dealing with dyslexia multiplied.

The opposite is also true. 

A calmer nervous system doesn't remove dyslexia. 

But it stops anxiety, shame and stress from running the show.

EQUIPPED

Jimmy Fallon Comedian GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

When I moved from being a laborer to financial services, I hadn't been diagnosed yet.

All I thought I knew was that I wasn't very bright.

That opportunity forced me to step up in ways I didn’t fully understand. 

So I started to work on myself and not the dyslexia I didn't know I had. 

I focused on the human stuff. 

The doubt, avoidance, fear of being found out.

This turned out to matter more than any diagnosis ever could have.

Because when the mental work started moving, everything else followed.

I accidentally did heart work on the human before I knew the dyslexic existed. 

That sparked the most profound mental shift of my life to date.

My learning differences didn’t disappear.

I was just better equipped to deal with them.

HEART HEADED 

Doctor Hello GIF by FIGS

The systems, the hacks, the famous dyslexics - those all live in your head.

They’re analytical. 

Which makes complete sense. 

And why you shouldn't blame yourself for it.

Because it’s the path most of us are led to.

Logical thinking for what feels like a logical problem.

But none of it touches the actual problem because the actual problem was never analytical.

Your head has been working overtime trying to solve something that actually lives in your heart.

You never introduced yourself as your diagnosis.

Your name stayed your name. 

But somewhere along the way, dyslexia stopped being something you have and started being something you are.

My name's Claude, what‘s yours? 

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