Why are you here right now?
No, really?
Are you sure want to learn this language?
I’ll give you a few minutes to think about it.
Still here?
Alright, that means that you must be willing to put in the hours every day, every week, every month until you’re at the level that you want to be at, right?
The broken record wisdom of life keeps singing away that every goal that you want to accomplish requires hard work and practice on a consistent basis.
[photo credit: edogisgod]
Being able to speak a language gets hit right in the center with this bullet.
If you’re going to stick around and hang out with me, then I expect you to put in the hours.
You’ll get bonus points if you trip over yourself with love for the language on your way there, too.
You get extra bonus points if you’re already in love with it & you feel gung-ho about starting this crazy adventure of diving into a culture.
So, it’s recommended that right now, out loud, you say to yourself (even if people are around you on the subway as you read this): “I’m deciding that I’m going to commit to learning _____, and I know that it will be hard, and I know that it will be a lot of work, but I’m going to do it.”
Affirmation it up.
Use the art of affirmations, of creating positive statements to improve your mindset and your life, to make a difference this goal around (because we all know that we’ve been a 78 goals before, and they just haven’t worked out).
Enough with the preaching.
Here’s the one thing that you should do right now, in this very moment, if you’re committed to becoming a speaker of this language.
Take out a sheet of paper and your most fluid writing pen, and write down your ‘why’ for learning this language.
I’ll wait for you to get your materials.
Got ‘em?
Sweet. Let’s go.
The lovely, inspirational concept of declaring your why comes from Simon Sinek’s infamous Ted talk that you can watch here if you so desire (It’s 18 minutes of pure ‘Oh’s’ and ‘Yes’s and ‘That makes so much sense’s).
Although his talk is geared toward business, there is evident truth here that applies specifically to learning languages, and it’s free advice that will give you a strong foundation for any language software.
He argues, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Transforming that into something that’s relevant to language learning, I say to you,”You won’t change your life and your behavior to include this language unless you buy into why you’re doing it in the first place.”
And then he asks, “What’s your purpose? What’s your cause? What’s your belief?”
Really, why do you buy into learning this language?
To get you jump started, I’ll tell you mine.
Let me tell you why I’ve started this project: I believe that there are people all around the world craving connection to each other, across country lines and language barriers. I believe that people, when pushed in the right direction with the right amount of inspiration, will willingly jump into the icy waters, learn the language, and make friends in other worlds that will transform the way they think about life. I believe that people are stoked at the thought of getting out of their cushy, comfy lives to go shake up their foundations and have an adventure with their new language as a tool.
Let me tell you why I’m learning to speak Italian: I believe in connection, and I love Italians. I think their language sounds like music. I love that they know exactly how to relax. I believe that by learning Italian, it will infuse my life with the passion that they feel towards art, music, and beauty. I love walking around Italy and being able to speak to the people about the things that matter the most to them in their own language. I love seeing their faces light up when they realize that I can have a conversation with them.
I have these written on sticky notes on my computer desktop.
And I do my best to read them everyday.
Now, it’s your turn.
In the comments below, with as much thought and love as you can put into them, write your why for starting this adventure into learning a language.
[photo credit: Heather Sutta <3]
