Nouns are an illusion. A product of our inability (or blatant disregard) to perceive changes in the things around us over a time period that would typically let us categorise them as verbs.
Things that move are easy to cast as verbs – to walk, to dance, to sing. States of being can quite happily be defined as verbs too – being at peace, or stressed. But the world of stuff and things (and people) too often inhabits the definition of the poor noun in spite of their fundamental nature.
But this isn’t an article about why your chair is more like a river than a rock.
It’s about why you are one.
From the moment we’re born we’re gifted labels – what a happy baby, what a terror. As we get older we encounter and begin to hold tight to ever more labels, integrating them into a definition of self – a passport with stamps of personality helping to describe who we are. Maybe you were a bright kid or a shy one. The stamps don’t matter until we begin to believe they truly are fixed.
When I was setting out to become a fit motherfucker (foolproof guide coming soon), one exercise I mastered quickly was working backwards from models: who are some examples of people that look the way I’d like to look? And importantly, what are the behaviours (verbs) that are most common across those people?
When I first started running I felt like an imposter. Everyone was looking at me thinking wtf is this hunk of ham doing?! Only about two months into doing it did I start to hear my inner voice saying hey! I’m a runner!
But at a certain point the realisation kicks in – the very act of verbing the things associated with the noun you once held in such high regard, has led those around you and perhaps even yourself to describe you as that very noun.
Stop focusing on obtaining the noun, and look for the verbs that lead to it.
Some examples:
- Runner
Noun-centric: is thin, is fast, owns sick trainers, has completed a marathon
Verb-centric: goes running multiple times a week, logs their runs, follows a running program - Gym rat
Noun-centric: is not built like a ham
Verb-centric: is in the gym for several hours a week, tracks their food - Emperor
Noun-centric: owns a castle/palace, has minions
Verb-centric: continually expands and defends territory, carefully murders any opposition before it grows
What noun are you chasing, and how could you verberise it?
Notes
- This idea was continually reinforced along the way – the other runners I would pass looked fit and healthy. The same for the people at the gym. This was a good sign.