Don’t Beat Yourself Up! (Let Me Do It)

(None of the people in the photos were quoted – or hurt – during this blog entry)

Perhaps it’s inevitable when people are starting to learn Cantonese that they will feel themselves transported back to their school days.

“I’ve been bad!” they say, and “a big boy/dog/parakeet took my homework!” “I’m too thick” “I can never learn it” and “I’m crap at languages”.

I’ve even seen people slapping themselves for being “stupid” and talking to themselves, saying “X, you idiot!”

I can hear through their mouths the voices of parents and teachers of yesteryear, thinking they’re helping a child’s development by making her feel stupid.

Dear adult learner: You’re an adult now. You’re independent, you take care of yourself, you’re good at your job and you’ve made it to the other side of the world. The horrors of school are far behind you. You are not a pupil. You are a customer paying a consultant to solve a problem for you.

It’s time to stop the voices in your head and replace them with some new ones. “This is easy.” “I’m learning fast.” “I’m good at languages, especially Cantonese.”

Guess what, the brain will believe anything you tell it, positive or negative. Why waste brain power telling yourself you’re stupid when it’s just as easy to tell yourself you’re smart and a quick learner?
Whatever you tell your brain becomes your reality.

Don’t beat yourself up! It’s a waste of time. Instead, congratulate yourself on having achieved so much. List your achievements. Only a few weeks/ months ago you didn’t know a single word of Cantonese but look at you now!

It takes a while, but the brain can be reprogrammed to think differently.

And if there is to be any violence it will come from me, thank you very much, and in the shape of light stabbing.

廣東話好容易學 – Gong Dong Wah hou yongyi hok (Cantonese is easy to learn)
我日日都學好多中文 – O yatyat dou hok hou doh jung man （I learn lots of Chinese every day)
我學得好快 – O hok dak hou fai (I learn quickly)