It’s human nature to feel like we don’t do enough. I feel the same way in many aspects of my life. If you’re struggling with this, think about it objectively and ask yourself why you are feeling this way. Do you have any proof or evidence that you aren’t doing enough? If your grades are going down, if you’re doing the bare minimum required and if you’re skipping class, then yes, you have reason to believe you are not doing enough. But if you’re putting in extra hours, reviewing your materials, engaging with materials, lecturers, online courses etc, then you have no reason to think you aren’t doing enough.
In our world of instant gratification and so-perceived overnight successes, it is becoming harder and harder to live and work with patience. You must understand that learning a language takes time and it requires a strong base and patience. Hold onto that. Language learning takes years, and nothing happens overnight.
Check out this video I made on motivation and language learning.
Studying 24/7 is not effective for anyone. In fact, it will make you tired and de-motivated since your body needs rest and a break. Your brain cannot take in massive amounts of information at a small time. If that were the case, language learning wouldn’t be a journey or an exciting thing to add to one’s CV cause everyone in the world would be able to learn any language in minutes. Reward yourself for every little step you’ve taken and how far you’ve come, no matter if you feel progress is slow.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, and pat yourself on the back for what you’ve done so far. Can you see progress from a year ago to now? If so, you’re on the right track and you’ve done an excellent job. Keep going! It’s okay to slow down. Just don’t stop.
My friend Alex Rawlings said he once heard someone tell him that learning a language is like swimming in a river. If you stop swimming, you float back because of the current. If you keep swimming, no matter how slow, you’ll at the very least stay at the same place or move forward slowly.
You can do it, and I believe in you.
