The pessimist says the glass is half empty. The optimist says it’s half full. The pragmatist says its liquid contents are at 50% capacity. The ironist says it’s half full of air. The practicalist says the glass is twice as big as it should be.
Each one of these is a different perspective on exactly the same thing. A negative one is by far one of the biggest issues people have that holds them back from learning languages, in my opinion. Optimism isn’t just having a smile on your face despite setbacks, it can dramatically alter the course of your personal missions. People have amazing ways of justifying why something it’s not possible for them. Bad news will always come your way and you have to develop the ability to filter it only for useful facts.
I could have spent a lot of time complaining about this “damn” English grammar, but that would not have helped. Instead I just said “Oh well” and got through it. With a bad attitude, anything can be hard to study and you’ll get through it much slower and much more reluctantly. Never say never, and especially never say “impossible”. It’s a word people throw around too much. If anyone in the history of the world has done it, then you can certainly do it. If they haven’t then what’s stopping you from being the first?
If something’s hard, work through it or skip it and come back to it after you’ve learned something else important for your task, or find a better approach to deal with that hard aspect. This is why I generally skip most grammar and focus on speaking languages from the start. Once you start speaking it (albeit incorrectly), grammar is more interesting and much easier to learn.
With a positive attitude, your learning process becomes more fun and easier. If your current learning method doesn't help you, find new approaches to learn English (or any language) until you find a better method that does indeed make things “easier” for you.
Each one of these is a different perspective on exactly the same thing. A negative one is by far one of the biggest issues people have that holds them back from learning languages, in my opinion. Optimism isn’t just having a smile on your face despite setbacks, it can dramatically alter the course of your personal missions. People have amazing ways of justifying why something it’s not possible for them. Bad news will always come your way and you have to develop the ability to filter it only for useful facts.
I could have spent a lot of time complaining about this “damn” English grammar, but that would not have helped. Instead I just said “Oh well” and got through it. With a bad attitude, anything can be hard to study and you’ll get through it much slower and much more reluctantly. Never say never, and especially never say “impossible”. It’s a word people throw around too much. If anyone in the history of the world has done it, then you can certainly do it. If they haven’t then what’s stopping you from being the first?
If something’s hard, work through it or skip it and come back to it after you’ve learned something else important for your task, or find a better approach to deal with that hard aspect. This is why I generally skip most grammar and focus on speaking languages from the start. Once you start speaking it (albeit incorrectly), grammar is more interesting and much easier to learn.
With a positive attitude, your learning process becomes more fun and easier. If your current learning method doesn't help you, find new approaches to learn English (or any language) until you find a better method that does indeed make things “easier” for you.
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