I Have Fat

I Have Fat
©2015 Scott D. Wilson, P.Eng.

I love language. It is just one way to communicate but it can be used to convey so much more than information. The words that we use and how we use them can reveal a lot about ourselves and our thought processes. Even punctuation can have a powerful effect… it can even save lives. There is a huge difference between “Let’s eat Bobby!” and “Let’s eat, Bobby!”

All kidding aside, we use words and language every single day but we rarely reflect on our language and understand how it influences us. Language affects our emotions, our thinking and even how we see and perceive the world around us. Words like Nazi, holocaust, pedophile, rape and 9-11 have powerful emotions attached to them; most people have significant feelings evoked when they hear these words used in speech or see them written.

How words and language affect out thinking and view of the world is more subtle by nonetheless real. I am privileged to be fluent in two languages: English and French. I can tell you that when I am speaking in French I am also thinking in French. Translating on the fly from English to French is too slow; this only happens when one is still in the early stages of learning a language. I explain this because I can tell you that French thinking is not the same as English thinking.

Here is a simple example that I like. In French, many of the states of being are possessive verbs instead of identifying verbs. In French, I have cold and I have hunger so one does not identify oneself as being cold or hungry but rather having these states. In English we say “I miss you.” This statement speaks about one’s own thoughts and emotions towards the absent party. In French we say “You are missing from me.” This phrasing evokes a much deeper connection to the other person; it is a statement of incompleteness.

Some might argue that this is all mere semantics but I must firmly disagree.  The statement “I am…” is a very strong statement of being and identification.  Possession is not mentally the same.  I can easily have or get something and then give it away or lose it.  It is much harder to change who we are or an identity.  When someone states “I am fat,” how does this person stop being fat?  How and when can the person change state from fatness to non-fatness?  In English we often identify ourselves with a transient state of being.  No wonder so many of us struggle with poor self-esteem and self-image.

I suggest a revolution of language.  Reimagine your use of words:

• I am not fat.  I have fat.
• I am not angry.  I have anger.
• I am not depressed.  I have depression.
• I am not afraid.  I have fear.

If you have something undesirable then you can work to eliminate it or reduce it.  Free yourself from identifying with your detrimental physical and emotional states.  Something as simple as changing your language can alter your thinking and help you to move from victim to victor!  Stop being a casualty to these words.  You have the power to change these things.  They do not define you and who you are.  Change you words.  Change your mind.  Change your life. And yes, even begin to change this world!