Are you ready to leave your comfort zone?

Going abroad and trying out your newly acquired language skills for real can be quite daunting. ‘‘Have I said this right?’’ ‘‘Have I made a complete fool of myself?’’ All of these worrying thoughts are natural companions on the journey to mastering a foreign language. The truth is, unless you are prepared to make mistakes and make a complete fool of yourself (sometimes), it will take you much longer to master a language and overcome communication barriers.

The first barrier you need to overcome is to master your own thoughts. They can be pretty self-destroying and lead to lack of confidence and unwillingness to carry on trying. The truth is, sometimes you need to leave your comfort zone in order to grow and acquire new skills. And in order to make the first step, you need to change your own language, how you speak to yourself. Here are 5 easy strategies to help you do it:

  1. Praise yourself every day.
  2. Replace ‘‘I’ll try’’ with ‘‘I will’’. You either do it and give it your all, or you don’t do it at all. The word ‘‘try’’ means that you are hesitating.
  3. You are more likely to stop yourself from doing something if you replace ‘‘I can’t’’ with ‘’I don’t’’. ‘‘I can’t go on FB’’ will sound more powerful if you say ‘’I don’t go on FB.’’
  4. Do not concentrate on how much you have to learn, think of how much you have already learnt. Celebrate every little step you make in the right direction.
  5. And the last, but not least. Learning a language is a truly exciting but complex process. Be patient with yourself.
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