28 Jun 2023
#4 Five Golden Rules to learn English (and everything else!)
5 Golden Rules to learn English and everything else!
Rule #1 - Focus
Make a deliberate decision
Many times we SAY that we want to do something, but we don’t do it.
We SAY that we want to lose weight, but we don’t change our eating habits.
We SAY that we want to be more productive, but we don’t change our daily habits.
We SAY that we want to improve our English, but we don’t do the necessary things to do so.
You can’t half ass it (this means to do something with little effort)
Let me ask you a question. How did you learn your native language?
You listened to it ALL day, you spoke it ALL day, you started reading EVERYTHING in your native language.
Now I understand that you can’t do EVERYTHING in English, but you have to try to do AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE in English.
When you learned your native language as a child, it wasn’t easy, it was HARD. But you had to go through that process. It’s the same thing with English. It’s not supposed to be easy, but guess what, it gets easier and easier the more you do it. It becomes easier once you MAKE THE DELIBERATE DECISION (by the way, remember that we don’t say “more easy”, more easy doesn’t exist, we say “easier”. So, when you have a goal, remember to FOCUS.
Rule #2 - Trust that you can
There’s a quote by Confucius (a quote is when you repeat something that somebody else said)
Confucius said, “The person that says that they CAN and the person that says that they CAN’T are both usually right”
This means that the moment you say “NO, I CAN’T” you take the road to failure. When you say “YES, I CAN” you begin your journey in the direction towards SUCCESS.
Your MINDSET is EXTREMELY important (mindset means your mental attitude).
Your mindset determines your day, your days determine your month, your months determine your year and your years determine your life. Trust that you CAN
Rule #3 - Be comfortable with everything
This is related to the MINDSET.
You have to convince yourself that it’s OK NOT to be perfect.
And you have to TRAIN yourself to be comfortable with NOT being perfect.
Let me give you an example:
When you first start a relationship you DON’T wanna take a shit when your new partner is in the room next to the bathroom. You’re embarrassed to take a dump with your partner in the room next to the bathroom, right? But after some time with your partner you start feeling more and more comfortable and you understand that going to the bathroom is something natural and necessary and you stop being embarrassed about it. Everybody goes to the bathroom, and EVERYBODY makes mistakes when they’re learning a new thing. Learn how to be comfortable
Rule #4 - Control your fear
It’s normal to be afraid when you think you’re being judged.
And you might not be able to get rid of your fear, but you can learn to control it. First of all you HAVE TO understand that it’s not REAL danger. Imagine when a boxer has to fight in the ring, do you think that he’s afraid? Of course he is! He’s a little bit nervous, he’s a little bit afraid. Every time. Why? Because his opponent wants to punch him in the face, his opponent wants to knock him out. In front of thousands of people, in front of millions of people. THAT is real danger. Making mistakes when speaking English is NOT real danger, nobody is going to punch you in the face. So, control your fear because there’s not real danger
Rule #5 - Have fun!
Have fun with your English learning!
If you have fun, you will want to do it more and more.
If it’s boring or too hard, you will stop and you will not want to do it again. So, what do YOU like? What do you like doing?
There are SOOOO many tools and ways that you can practice your English nowadays
Try to be creative with your English practice.
Coming up with creative ideas gives you a boost, a push, some help in your activity.
If you like music, practice with music. If you like reading, read in English. If you like making new friends, make new friends that speak English or are learning English...
