Is learning English like running a marathon?

Have you ever done something that you thought was impossible?

Something that you always saw as a huge* thing?

That other people could do, but not you.

🤯 Something that you looked at and said “I can’t even imagine doing that!” Some BIG thing.

Maybe for you, it’s moving to another country.

Getting a very high position in your company. (Or creating your own company!)

Maybe it’s doing English every day and becoming confident, truly confident.

For me, that big thing was running a marathon!

And I want to share my joy with you in a special video today!

Often, while I was training and running, I thought about you.

(I also thought “Why am I doing this?”, “I’d rather be in bed now!”, and “OMG, why is this so hard?”… but that’s another story. 😉

I thought about YOU because training for and running a marathon is EXACTLY like improving your English skills.

You have to be regular, over a long period of time if you want to have any chance of success.

For example, I had to follow a training program for 5 months. Running 4 times per week. With 2 strength training sessions each week too.

And I made time to do 95% of the sessions in my training program. Not easy, and sometimes it meant running at 6am in the cold winter. ❄️

But I ALWAYS felt satisfied that I did it. Starting was the hard part. And at some point, you have to just do it (Now I know why that’s the slogan of the brand Nike!)

If you want to succeed, you have to be consistent.

Easier said than done,* I know.

🔑But consistency is key. It’s better to do a little English every day, than 1 hour once a week.

Start small if you have to, but be consistent.

There were days during my training, and moments in the marathon when I loved it! I felt good, strong, and like “Yeah!! I’m doing this!!”

Then there were moments when I felt like I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to do it. I just wanted to quit and say “I’m not good enough. I give up.”

🤩There are days when you will love speaking English and feel good about yourself.

💩And there are days when you feel like crap*.

Or it feels impossible to find the time & energy.

It’s normal, and when it feels difficult, you have to push yourself to keep going, because deep down, you know you’re capable…

…even if you’re not as fast as you would like to be right now. (That’s my case when I run.🐢 But I’ll keep working on that because I know I can do better!)

During my training, I worked with a coach.

I had a program to follow each week.

I ran with a group of friends, and very often just with my friend, Julie.

Trying to do something hard alone is, well, hard.

To consistently improve your English, work with a coach, a buddy, a group who supports you. Or just a friend who holds you accountable.

Again, it’s easier said than done.

📈 But if you do it, it will 10x your chance of success.

If you depend only on your motivation, it’s easy to say “Not today. I’m too busy. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

😟And maybe you think “But I’m worried about my level. I don’t want to be the slow one. I prefer to just do it alone.

It’s easier that way.,”

I thought that too.

In fact, I ran alone often during my program.

But not always.

And even on the days I ran alone, I shared my run with my friends. This way, I still had their support and encouragement.

So I was alone for my run, but I wasn’t alone as I tried to reach my goal.

Improving your English is EXACTLY like that.

You do some work alone, but not all of it. And you don’t stay alone while you work towards your goal.

And that makes ALL the difference.

This is my story, but I want to know YOUR story too! (Don’t worry, you don’t have to run a marathon or make a video about it 😉

Tell us:

Or something small (like leaving your 1st comment on my blog!)
It can be something related to English, or not!

Don’t be shy!

🦚Today is the day to feel proud of yourself, and to let us be proud of you too!Stay strong,

Christina

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