Hey there! This is TOP episode 223. THIS One Thing Keeps You Stuck.
Do you struggle with speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? Are you tired of lacking confidence? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak, I’m a teacher empowering English learners to become confident speakers. I firmly believe that the key to fluency is in your pocket. Join my TOPeople newsletter for weekly motivation and free materials. Enjoy your journey to fluency! Happy learning!
Hey there! Good to be back with another tip that might help you on your learning journey. Before we jump in I’d like to invite you to a live event I’m hosting This Thursday, that is 30 November. Please sign up at teacherola.com/webinar. It’s free and it will help you understand why you are not speaking English fluently yet. There are 5 major mistakes I see people make all the time. Come, learn what to change and how to do it. after this webinar you will be able to fix those mistakes and start noticing true and lasting progress.
After a decade of guiding my student, I’ve noticed something that keeps popping up all the time: the lack of belief in oneself and the not-so-friendly habit of self-sabotage. You write about it in my survey, you talk about it during our free consultations. It’s such a vast problem! I remember myself being in that place too. For a long time, also as a teacher.
Today, let’s chat about how doubting yourself can throw a wrench into your language learning journey, and, no worries, I’ll throw in some science to back it up.
Now, picture this: your brain is this powerhouse of potential, and when you believe in yourself, it’s like turning on all the motivational lights. Scientifically speaking, studies in psychology and neuroscience have shown that this “self-fulfilling prophecy” is a real deal. If you think you can do it, your actions tend to follow suit, leading to some pretty awesome outcomes. So there’s a certain believe (that you’re aware of or not) then there are thoughts that stem from your believe. Next, your thoughts cause certain emotions that in turn cause you to behave in a certain way. But it all starts with what you believe in.
Unfortunately, we tell ourselves awful lies and what’s even worse we believe in those lies. Things like: I’m too old, I’m too stupid, I have bad memory, I don’t have time, I don’t know how to learn, I can’t learn, I hate learning. Rubish, all rubish!
Now, let’s tackle the flip side: a very close neighbour of self-doubt—self-sabotage. Self-sabote looks different for everyone.
Generally there are some signs you may relate to. Here’s the list of symptoms of self-sabotage when it comes to English learning:
- procrastination
- avoiding learning
- forgetting about learning
- breaking promises you gave to yourself
- lack of preparation
- neglecting your goal
- showing up late to classes
- giving up when things get more difficult
Have you heard of Dr. Carol Dweck? She’s the mind behind the whole fixed versus growth mindset thing. Long story short, if you’re in Team “I-can-grow-and-learn,” you’re more likely to bounce back from challenges. But if you’re stuck in Team “My-abilities-are-as-frozen” you might find yourself throwing in the towel when things get tough.
There’s in fact another episode of Teacher Ola Podcast about Fixed Mindset, it’s episode 167.
So, if you’re feeling stuck, remember: the journey to success starts with believing in yourself. Science says so! By giving self-doubt the boot and challenging those self-sabotaging habits, you’re unlocking the door to fluency. Don’t start with grammar, don’t start with long vocabulary lists, maybe it’s counter-intuitive but you should begin with working on your mindset. You can have the best teacher, the best course, the best materials, but if you doubt yourself there’s no way on Earth you can succeeded. But if you start beliving in yourself, anything can happen. Everything is possible. Dr. Wyne Dyer used to say: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”. Another quote by him I want to leave you with is this: “It doesn’t matter what the facts are, the only thing that matters if what you believe in.”
Ok, now if you want to know more about how to get unstuck and finally start to see results of your learning go to teacherola.com/webinar and sign up for me free live webinar and see you there on 30 Noveber 2023 and 1 December 2023 for a 2-day live event. Ok? If you cannot make it, still sign up and you’ll be able to rewatch it later. Once again, teacherola.com/nwebinar.
Don’t forget to complete the Worksheet for this episode. It’s available at teacherola.com/223. I’ll be back next week, until then, stay fearless, keep speaking, and take care. My name’s Ola Mierniczak, and you were listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now! Till next time!