Learning vs. Practicing

You have the power to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.

You don’t win by sitting on the fence. You succeed by getting your hands dirty. There are no shortcuts to progress or mastery.

“Whatever you dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”

• Break the skill into various small parts, remembering that every big skill is a collection of many sub-skills.
• Identify the essential sub-skills needed to give you the maximum advantage.
• Practice the most important part that you have discovered, using the 80:20 principle in your learning.

The Pareto principle states that 20% of your activities (even lesser) deliver 80% results (even more) in almost every area of your life.

“Motivation is usually the first thing to go, especially among students who are teaching themselves.” To keep the momentum going he suggests writing down 10 reasons you are learning a language and sticking it to the front of the file you are using.

When signing up to a particular method or approach, think about the substance behind the style or technology. “Ultimately,” Aaron Ralby says, “the learning takes place inside you rather that outside, regardless of whether it’s a computer or book or a teacher in front of you.”

A will to start and self-confidence is necessary as is having the courage to speak, and not being afraid of making mistakes. The key is to immerse yourself and put your whole being to the task.

Total immersion necessitates activities like listening to the radio station of the language you are learning, reading and speaking to people.

It is a good idea to master the basic skills first and focus on the grammar later, while asking for feedback and correcting yourself, learning on-the-fly.

Invest not only your head but your heart in the learning process. Practice makes perfect.

Pick a friend who also wants to learn the language. Agree to talk in the target language at least once per day or whenever you do talk.

The friend does not have to be a native speaker. Whenever you are stuck, use a dictionary or Google translate. But, 10% of your time should be speaking with an advanced or native speaker.

If you cannot find someone willing to commit to only speaking that language, hire a tutor.

You can also opt for language exchange with people who want to learn your language.

Repeating the sounds (out loud or in your head) will give you a feel for the language. Memorize not just words, but sentences and even songs to get the rhythm and intonation of the language. 

Read words, sentences, children’s books, newspaper articles. Read as far and near as you can, whether out loud to an audience or quietly to yourself. 

Seeing the language in print helps you understand word structures. It also anchors the new sounds, and helps them get imprinted in your mind.

Finding some kind of partner on your language adventure will push both of you to always try just a little bit harder and stay with it.

It’s a really great way of actually going about it. You have someone with whom you can speak, and that’s the idea behind learning a new language.

When you have no one else to speak to, there’s nothing wrong with talking to yourself in a foreign language.

This can keep new words and phrases fresh in your mind. It also helps build up your confidence for the next time you speak with someone.

Why we set our goals matters. If it is out of fear or social expectations, then they are not going to last.

Authentic values are what helps achieve our goals, as there is a never-ending supply of willpower when we are doing what aligns with our innermost core.

Resolving that you won't have any alcohol keeps the focus on the alcohol. Instead of focusing on what you don't want to do, focus on the positive aspect, like drinking more water.

Use gratitude and other positive emotions to steer your mind out of any pitfalls.

Without the removal of negative behaviors before the addition of positive ones, you’ll always be taking one step forward followed by one step backward and using untold amounts of effort on getting nowhere.

“We think, mistakenly, that success is the result of the amount of time we put in at work, instead of the quality of time we put in.” -Arianna Huffington

There is a big difference between 6 hours of distracted and disconnected work versus 1 hour of distraction-Less and deeply focused work.

More time means that a person can attain more knowledge, but as knowledge is a passive acquisition of facts and data, having more knowledge does not mean having wisdom.

Wisdom tends to be less affected by time, as it requires additional steps of applying judgement, drawing conclusions and adapting one’s behaviour accordingly.

• Wisdom is related to knowledge, just as practice is related to theory. Wisdom is intrinsic whereas knowledge comes from external sources.
• Application of wisdom requires more than facts and data, like speculations, feelings, moral and ethical values. Applying knowledge is a much simpler and more linear process.

Example: Development of nuclear weapons requires knowledge, but during wartime, using nuclear weapons on a country requires wisdom.