Be Consistent

 

When learning Spanish, one of the most important things a new user needs is being consistent.

What actually involves being consistent?

To me being consistent is always acting or behaving in the same way.

The reason why being consistent is such a blessing when learning anything, especially Spanish, is that it gives you a routine. This routine is something to fall back on when you lose that rush of excitement that we all get (even me) when we first start learning something new.

You know that feeling, that rush of excitement when you first decide to do something and your telling everyone and there Grandma (cause who doesn’t want to tell Grandma) that you are learning something and you are going to get it done.

Then a few days or weeks start to go by and you’re starting to lose steam fast, that’s when being consistent pays off because of your consistency, you will have a much stronger desire to keep going because of how much time you put in and if you are doing it at the same time, you will already be conditioned to complete the task at the same time and day.

So how do you be consistent when learning Spanish?

Be Consistent

First, you need to set a time every day that you are going to put aside to study. It doesn’t matter if it is in the morning or night, you just have to pick a time that works for your schedule.

Next, is the hard part. Rain or shine, feeling good or straight crappy, you have to get up and study at that time no matter what. Well it be hard in the beginning, you better believe it. Well it be even harder when you are losing steam, you know it will be.

 

But if you can stick with it and do it, you will have a much better chance of success versus someone who studies when they can which to the all of us is (never).

 

 

Return to Homepage

Do Not Give Up

When you first start learning Spanish, the easiest thing to do is give up and quit, but instead, please do not give up . If you do, it will be like every other thing that you wanted to do or learn and will just end up as a regret. Trust me on this as I speak from experience.

In the beginning when you first start learning you are all excited with the idea of being able to speak Spanish fluently. Than reality hits you in the face and you soon realize that you can speak words of Spanish but very few if any sentences and have a conversation in Spanish is just a dream.

Why, you ask? Simply put, learning Spanish is (not can, but is) frustrating and hard. And anyone who tells you that you can learn to speak Spanish in ten days or thirty days is straight up lying to you.

When questioned on there results, they will say that you will know some Spanish in 10 or 30 days which as far as i am concerned is a lot different than knowing how to speak Spanish fluently.

Do Not Give Up

So why should not Give Up, because like everything else in life the more you put the more you will get out. and trust when I tell you that the first time you speak to someone in Spanish will be a feeling you will remember for a long, long time.

I can remember one of the first times i spoke only Spanish. I was in a hotel and I needed towels and the cleaning lady only spoke Spanish. So i mustered the courage and I asked her in Spanish, “Yo necesito dos toallas limpias por favor” which translated means “I need two clean towels please” and she gave me two clean towels. I was so happy that I did it and you can achieve that feeling to.

But to get to that point, you have to persevere and push through the hard times to get to the good times.

You can do it, you just have to apply yourself, keep fighting and Don’t give up.

What are you waiting for … the time Learn Spanish is now.

 

Return to Homepage

Repetition

When learning Spanish, one of the most important things a new user needs is Repetition.

What is Repetition?

Repetition is the act of repeating, or doing, saying, or writing something over and over again.

Why is Repetition so important?

The reason why Repetition is so important when learning anything, especially Spanish, is that it forces your mind to consciously / subconsciously to learn even if you don’t want to by making you do it over and over and over again until you get whatever it is you are trying to learn.

Think about a time in your life when you tried to do something and you failed or did not get the results you wanted. For me it was when I wanted to learn how to play the Guitar.

You know, I always wanted to learn how to play the Guitar and jam out like they do on TV. One night, (why is always at night) I was watching one those home shopping channels (hint It begins with “H”) with a three letter name (hahaha) and they had this deal for a guitar, amp, strings and lessons (total package) and a money back guarantee.  So without thinking twice, I pulled the credit card, jumped at the deal and bought it. While I waited for it to arrive, I imagined all the songs (not just one or two but tons) I would be playing once I learned and couldn’t wait. Well, fast forward about two months later (one month after I got my guitar package) and the guitar, amp, string and lessons where just sitting there, doing nothing. I did open it, I did try and guess what I found out that I was not naturally gifted to just pick up and jam, so I got frustrated, said some not so nice words and gave up way before I even really tried. I thought it would be easy (It was not) and so I did not practice (repeat what I was taught) and soon gave up.

So like me, one of the reasons why you most likely have failed at learning something new was because you gave up too quickly due to frustration/motivation/lack of interest before you became proficient at what you were trying to learn. If you’re being honest with yourself, you gave up way before you tried.

Now, think back to when you were first started to learn how to drive a car. Like the Guitar scenario above, you probably had dreams of freedom, driving down the street all alone enjoying the good life. But once you started learning how to drive, like most of us (including me) you were probably terrible at driving and wanted nothing more but to throw your hands up in defeat and quit. Once, while I was learning to drive with my Mom, I got so frustrated (learning to drive a stick, big no no)and after stalling the card for the hundredth time,  I got out of the car and walked home leaving her alone in the car to drive back.  But unlike the guitar scenario, I did not give up and did succeed.

How did I do it?

I did not quit, I got back in that stupid car and drove every day that I could (find someone to drive with) until I was good enough to A. Get my license and then B. Be good enough to drive confidently and alone.

And what’s another word for all the practice that I did to learn how to drive? That’s right, Repetition.

Without Repetition, you will never, ever be good at speaking, reading, writing or understanding Spanish.

 

Return to Homepage

Stay Positive

 

When learning anything new, wither complex or simple, the easiest attitude to get is to become frustrated and negative. This type of thinking will almost always lead you to lose faith that you will succeed and lead you down the path of another goal not achieved, not attained, not completed and no one wants that.

So how can you avoid this way of thinking when learning something new and Is it possible?

The solution is really simple to say but very hard to do and that’s Stay Positive.

 

So how do you go about staying positive when everything inside of you is telling you that it would be so much easier to be negative and just give up?

Like everything else in life, it takes practice, a whole lot of practice.

 

Sorry, I know you were probably looking for a magic bullet or an easier answer but there isn’t. If you do find one, please let me know cause up to this point in my life I have yet to find one.

Stay Positive in Spanish

The truth is that you just got to work on staying positive every day.  As they say (who I have no idea), it’s much easier to work on something in good times than It is during the bad times. What I mean is that if have a positive mind frame and you are facing obstacles, your brain will find a way to push through it and not give up. If on other hand you are constantly negative and down in the dumps, you will have no chance of success in learning Spanish or anything for that matter.

 

 

So the moral of this story is, staying positive gives you a much better chance of success than being negative. So smile more, frown less and realize that you are not the first nor the last person who has successfully learned Spanish. So chin up, and get going.

The sooner you start, the faster you will get there and when you look back and see how far you have come you will realize that being positive not only helped you learn Spanish but it also impacted every other part of your life.  Soon you will see the glass as half full instead of half empty like you did previously. Like the picture above says “Success ahead” but what it doesn’t say but should is that success can be found in all aspects of your life and all it took was being a little more positive.

 

 

 

Return to Homepage