English Nel: Empower Your English

In today’s Podcast we’re gonna talk about how to stop caring about what people think.

Don’t compare yourself to others

Comparing yourself to others and focusing on what other people think about you is bad for your mental health. The happiest people don’t even think about others, they focus on themselves and being better than they were previously. So don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to who you were yesterday. 

Redirect your energy

Your energy is one of the most important things that you have. Don’t focus it in the wrong place, it can be very exhausting and it becomes a very bad habit.

For example: If you think, oh no, I have to speak English, but I’m nervous and uncomfortable, I will probably make mistakes and nobody will understand me. Guess what. You are preparing yourself to fail! 

Instead you should think like this: Ok, I have to speak English, I’m nervous but I’m going to do it anyway, this is my opportunity to use my English in real life. It doesn’t matter if I make mistakes, I will find a way to make them understand me. 

Redirect your energy!

Why are you doing this? (remind yourself)

Do you want to learn English to impress a pretty lady or a handsome gentleman? Or do you want to learn because YOU need it, because YOU want it. If you’re doing it for YOU, YOU have to stop caring about what other people think. Why are you afraid of speaking with strangers, you will never see them again! Do other people’s opinions really matter in the big picture? NO!!!

Remember that you’re doing this for you.

Surround yourself with vitamin people

It’s hard to NOT care what people think if the people close to you are always criticizing what you do. 

I once heard a quote that I’ll never forget. “If your circle doesn’t support you, you don’t have a circle, you have a cage”

You can’t change your family, but you can stop listening to them

You can change your friends if they can’t teach you anything or if they don’t want to grow.

You can change your partner (spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend) if they don’t support your growth and keep up with you.

You can change your teacher (if you have a bad teacher)

Remember that sometimes change equals growth.

So get rid of the bad people around you and surround yourself with good people. 

Embrace your short-comings

Accept your flaws. We’re not perfect, we make mistakes.

Be okay with your mistakes, laugh at your mistakes

When you laugh at your own mistakes they don’t seem so bad anymore. It becomes a funny thing and an opportunity to overcome the fear of what other people say or think. Plus, when you do this you take away the power from the people that criticize you.

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... 

In today’s Podcast we’re gonna talk about How to create life changing habits when learning a language or just to live a better life in general!

You don’t decide your future, you decide your habits and your habits decide your future for you!

In today's podcast, we'll be discussing how learning English can change your life. If you're an intermediate or advanced English learner, then this episode is perfect for you. I'm English Nel and I’m here to help you understand the benefits of learning English. So let's get started!

Empower your English: A Podcast for Personal Growth and Motivation

This is the introduction to my Podcast.

Empower Your English with English Nel is the Podcast for English learners like YOU looking to improve your English, your discipline, your motivation and your personal growth. In this podcast, we'll be exploring the power of the mindset and how improving your English can change your life.