Staying Motivated: Recognizing Progress (Arabic Week 21)

This goes out to anybody taking on something new. That can be anybody taking on a new language like myself, a change in your nutrition, a change in your exercise routine, etc. At some point we all decide to make a change in hopes for the better. That initial moment is exciting, you have a purpose and a plan and you're ready to go!

How long has it been? How long since you started? How long since it wasn't as easy to stay motivated? How long since you felt you like you were still doing it right?

The truth is, that initial moment is going to pass and following it will be a large place of uncertainty. When I first began learning Arabic I was excited. I felt like I was learning things and moving forward. After a few days I hit that first bump in the road and it slowed me down. Suddenly, things started to get more difficult. My motivation from before was still trying to push back but the obstacles got larger. Did I take a wrong turn? Why wasn't it as easy as before?

Honestly, that rut hit me for longer than I want to admit. I felt like I had a vague idea of the language for a while. I felt I could recognize the letters, but other than that all I could do was say, "Hello." This can really start to wear down on you.

Whenever we set out with a new goal, a new change, a new plan, etc. we always have the end in sight but we forget about the middle ground. We forget how difficult those times in between can be. So what happens when we get to those difficult times? We lose our path. We forget why we started. That's the time to really remember why we started.

For anybody who is striving for something more but struggling through the middle, take a second to remind yourself of why you started and where you hope to get to. You'd be surprised how often we forget to encourage ourselves to keep pushing for our own goals.

One thing that is important to do is to remind yourself of how far you've come. I can look at my video I made today and say, "Wow, I struggled to get out a single sentence. I had to stop and think for EVERY word." I could continually tell myself that I'm no where near being able to comfortable talk with people without a cheat sheet. Or, I can look at how far I've come. Most of the words and phrases I'm saying I didn't even know two weeks ago. This week I could actually say some phrases that explain myself and my family. Even though I look confused and lost in the videos I've posted the past two weeks, I am a lot more confident in myself and what I'm doing.

Stay positive and keep pushing yourself to reach your goals. We'll get through the rough patches together. Please feel free to contact me if you need any motivation for chasing your goals.

Until next time.