In my .tex file, I have section titles and labels like this:

\section{My section title}

\label{sec:my_section_title}

I can then cross-reference this section in my text like this:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet \ref{my_section_title}

I'm frequently changing my section titles to something very different different which forces me to change my labels and cross references. This can becomes tedious when my cross references are scattered through a long document.

What is the best way of changing labels in which the cross references are scattered through long development? Is there any way to automate the process?