The Etymology of You (or The End of “Cranky”)

Updated Give-Away Section

Have you ever felt like there was something about yourself you just couldn’t change no matter how much you tried? Ever said defensively, “That’s just the way I am”? Or, “It’s too late to change now”? If your answer to those questions is yes, you’re likely not alone. In fact, I can guarantee that our natural reaction to changing something about ourselves is typically more filled with resistance and resignation than optimism and enthusiasm. But aren’t evolution and progress just fancy words for “change”?  Isn’t it more natural to progress and evolve than to remain static? If Darwin could guest post on my blog (whoa, that would be sweet! It would bring a whole new meaning to “ghost writing”) — I’m sure he’d say that survival of the fittest was really survival of those willing to change and adapt, right?  Do I have a point?  Why am I asking so many questions, you ask? Oy!

Well…it came to me as I was playing around intentionally researching on the Oxford English Dictionary that having “etymology,” or a history of how words have changed over time, testifies to our propensity to change and to progress as a society. More importantly, the manner in which we live our lives is also a history of how we have or have not changed as individuals.  As I entered my beloved word “cranky” into the dictionary, I was shocked to see that at one point its usage had meant “brisk, merry, lively, disposed to exult.”  WHAT?!  You mean, being “cranky” hasn’t always meant being ill-tempered?! Blasphemy!

I guess my point is — this has been a typical, cranky week for me.  One in which I asked myself, “Have I changed at all?”  Then I saw the etymological writing on the wall and knew that I had changed and that I could and would continue to change.  When I die, I don’t want the definition of my life to be one-sided and static.  I want it to be a case-study in evolution and progress.  I want “cranky” to end up with the definition, “one who changes to better herself despite obstacles.”

How do you define yourself?  How do you want to define yourself?  Is there something you’d like to change, but haven’t been able to?  What have you been able to change?

In the News

• If the Times article telling you exercise wouldn’t help you lose weight didn’t give you enough of a reason to throw your dumbbells out the window, then maybe this article telling you that dieting could lead to a positive test for cannabis will put you over the edge, back onto the couch cushion with remote in one hand and bon bon in the other…New Scientist’s, “Dieting Could Lead to Positive Test for Cannabis” (8/9/09) here
• New Scientist‘s, “The Fat that Makes You Thin” (8/14/09) here
  

Give-Away Round-Up

• And yet another…$100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods here
• And another?! Damn!…$100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods here
• And a freakin’ other…$100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods here
• Win a copy of the book Fit Soul, Fit Body here
• Win some Musselman’s Healthy Picks Applesauce here
• Win a copy of the book Lose the Diet here
• Win a SanDisk slotRadio here (You’ll have to break out your inner Shakespeare to win this one!)
• Win some Dr. Bronner’s hand soap here

p.s. Speaking of change…I was rather resistant to joining Twitter — why, oh why, would an English major want to limit her thoughts to 140 characters I had thought?  Then I thought…maybe that’s a good way to learn the art of brevity, eh?  Join me? FeedMeImCranky1

<3, The Cranky One

Tags: cranky, etymology, The Oxford English Dictionary, Twitter