S6E33: Consistency doesn’t need your best self

Full transcript:

Good morning, happy Wednesday and welcome to the Language Confidence Project, the daily dose of language courage for people who love languages and those who really don’t, but have to learn one anyway. And don't forget, the Language Confidence Project is now on YouTube, offering daily videos of encouragement to make language learning more creative, compassionate, and meaningful! So please support me by subscribing via the link in the show notes, liking my videos, and leaving a comment if you stop by. This makes a huge difference in helping others find my work, and word of mouth is the best way to let people know about the work I do.

And today, I just wanted to come in mid week and remind you that being consistent does not mean always showing up with 100%. Not 100% creative energy, enthusiasm, motivation, curiosity, health, nothing. None of that.

All consistency is, at its core, is coming into contact with your language regularly. For some of us, that might be every day. For others, three times a week: ten minutes on a Monday, an hour on a Wednesday, and an hour on a Sunday. You don’t have to show up as your best to any of those sessions, let alone all of them.

You just have to show up.  

Don’t worry that you came but you really weren’t feeling it. Because it was so, so much better that you did, than to put it off and not approach your language at all, and sit around waiting until you felt like the conditions were perfect. In just the same way that it’s better to do an imperfect work out for thirty minutes, twice a week, than it is to do an hour of perfect workout once every three months when the weather is perfect, you’ve had a great night’s sleep, and you’ve deemed every other condition optimal. Regular is better than sporadic but superlative. And that means we have to get comfortable with the fact that that means, we’re not always going to be coming at our best.

And again, this isn’t about forcing yourself to work when you are exhausted or ill or when life is really turbulent. That’s not and it never is what I would ever ask of you.

But it is about recognising the difference between deliberately stopping work as an act of self care, and prioritising rest instead, versus feeling like today, you’re just not good enough to show up for your goal. And then it becomes less about looking after yourself, and more about feeling worthy of your goal, or that your work is only worth something when it’s delivered from a place of optimal. And that’s where things can start to get tangled.  

You are always good enough to show up for your goal. And you always have something valuable to give. So don’t let yourself feel pressured by the idea that you need to be perfect, because you really don’t. You just have to show up.  

And if you’d like to support my work and meet some amazing people in the process, take a look at my Patreon Community of creative, multipassionate and mission driven language learners. We meet up online once a month to chat about all things language, productivity and the world, and depending on the tier you choose, I also offer weekly co-working in the Creative Space to get tons of motivation and accountability, and a personalised monthly Q&A session. There’s even the option to get a personalised coaching call and brain huddle from me. So if you’re curious, and I would love if you could join us, the link is in the show notes.

Good luck today, language learners, and I will see you back here tomorrow.