At the outset of this blog, I was determined to make this year abroad the best thing I would ever do. Fast forward to now, with a little over three months remaining and I'd tell you that it's turned out very differently to what I expected. That's not to say I'm deeply unhappy with where I am and what I'm doing. Rather, its a timely reminder to not set ludicrous expectations. It's not the first time of late that I've had to be honest and accept the reality of a situation, and it never gets easier. It's not uncommon to be so caught up in the hype that you fail to be honest with yourself (and others) about what you really think of the experience. Furthermore its very easy with something as big as a year abroad to feel like you're failing at it if you feel anything other than total happiness the entire time.
However, one thing I've learned since I began University in late 2013 is to take a more holistic approach when it comes to goal setting, and to keep track of the bigger picture. By this I mean remembering where, and who, you were when you began, so that you can use that as the barometer to judge yourself, rather than just the result of something. That way, even if you deem yourself to have failed, you remain positive for the changes you experienced along the way. I've been able to put this strategy into practice at various times, on various fronts, since I started my days as a student. That's to say that although University hasn't been success after success, I've emerged a better, healthier person as a result of trying to make a difference.
I believe that this approach stems from a Type B personality trait. This is defined as 'people who by definition live at a lower stress level and typically work steadily, enjoying achievement but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved... They are often reflective, thinking about both the outer and inner worlds.' Needless to say this doesn't mean that you shouldn't put absolutely everything you can into achieving whatever goals you set for yourself, but again I come back to enjoying the process- which for myself and my classmates means the remaining three months of our year abroad. Likewise, being privy to judging my current self against the me from last year is another common occurrence for B personalities.
So how does this help me to get the best of myself? Well, it keeps me level headed, and motivated to continue to strive to be the best I can be in everything. This means I'm often looking within and asking myself, 'What am I capable of achieving now? What would I be capable of achieving if I tried and kept at it a little longer?'
With only three months remaining of my year abroad, I'd say it's been pretty good- it hasn't been the greatest thing I've ever done, nor have I made any great effort to 'find myself', and I often end up unfavourably comparing my experiences in Spain with those of my friends, which judging from their various Facebook posts, blogs and photos, puts mine into the shade. This is quite a shift in perspective from my early blogs, but I believe there's a very important lesson to be learned from this: don't expect too much, too soon.
I believe that this approach stems from a Type B personality trait. This is defined as 'people who by definition live at a lower stress level and typically work steadily, enjoying achievement but not becoming stressed when they are not achieved... They are often reflective, thinking about both the outer and inner worlds.' Needless to say this doesn't mean that you shouldn't put absolutely everything you can into achieving whatever goals you set for yourself, but again I come back to enjoying the process- which for myself and my classmates means the remaining three months of our year abroad. Likewise, being privy to judging my current self against the me from last year is another common occurrence for B personalities.
So how does this help me to get the best of myself? Well, it keeps me level headed, and motivated to continue to strive to be the best I can be in everything. This means I'm often looking within and asking myself, 'What am I capable of achieving now? What would I be capable of achieving if I tried and kept at it a little longer?'
With only three months remaining of my year abroad, I'd say it's been pretty good- it hasn't been the greatest thing I've ever done, nor have I made any great effort to 'find myself', and I often end up unfavourably comparing my experiences in Spain with those of my friends, which judging from their various Facebook posts, blogs and photos, puts mine into the shade. This is quite a shift in perspective from my early blogs, but I believe there's a very important lesson to be learned from this: don't expect too much, too soon.
Did you know that over ninety percent of New Year's Resolutions fail by the end of February? It's true, according to research from the Brain Statistics Institute, who go on to state that a loss of motivation is cited as the main reason that people give up on their goals. I don't mean to judge and criticize when I say this, but I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions. Though they are meant to imply a willingness to change and adopt healthier habits, I believe goals can, and should, be set at various times throughout the other 11 months of the year. What's wrong with achieving in February, March or April?
Moreover, I don't buy the excuse of lacking motivation. If you weren't up for changing something, then you wouldn't set it as a goal. What I believe to be most important when setting goals for oneself is being realistic. Don't try and bite off more than you can chew immediately- it's much better to focus on small steps. It takes more time, but that means it's worth doing. These days, we live in a society in which the pressure to enact personal changes can be overwhelming. Almost everyday, we see new commercials for the latest FAD Diet or Self-Help book, or hear people on the radio talking about how they're going to shave their heads, move to Tibet and live in a monastery for a year. No thanks.
The most important first step to setting a goal is to work out what you really want. This sounds obvious but often people come up with things from scratch, without being sufficiently introspective first. What I mean is that it's better to map out a few different areas of your life and then write down targets for each that you would enjoy achieving, and would leave you feeling enriched as a result. I would call this 'Focusing Inwards to Achieve Outwards.'
The next part of this process involves being kind to yourself- this sounds extremely corny but bear with me. This is the absolute first step towards achieving any goal which you set yourself. Treat yourself as you'd treat others, so that if you make a mistake, you're able to draw a line under it and move on. I'm still getting to grips with this little step. It's been very easy to feel that, because I'm not as blissfully happy as my classmates I'm not making the most of this opportunity, rather than focusing on the multiple things I've done well. Goals require a certain amount of diligence, so you'll be better equipped to cope with mistakes by going into them with a positive mindset. We should all be allowed to make mistakes from time to time, and use them to focus on how far we have come and all we have previously achieved. So what does this mean for me?
Despite being employed as a teacher, for me this year is about learning. I've reached a point now where, with three months remaining before I pack my bags and say 'adios' to Granada, I'm asking myself: 'At what level do I want to be when I return to University in September?' This is a marked contrast to what I wanted to get out from this year at the start of September, and shows you how your perspective can, and indeed should, shift throughout, irrespective of the quality of your experience. This goal doesn't only apply to language-learning, but to athletic and social pursuits also. Though admittedly, acting like a sponge and trying to soak up all the Spanish know-how I can is the big one.
With your goal in mind, it's then your task to come up with various strategies that will allow you to attain it through repeated practice and self-improvement. This doesn't have to mean force-feeding yourself grammar tests (as a linguistic example) or other tedious things that don't work for you. You have to enjoy the process, or else the end result won't be what you wanted at the outset. An example for me this year would be religiously buying Diarios (Sports dailies) during the week, and noting down new words or phrases on my mobile each time I come across one- which is a lot. Then it's my job to put them into practice. This is just an example of something that works for me, as I'm able to read about something I enjoy -Spanish football- in my target language, and isn't something for which I need to set aside a scheduled hour each day. The beauty of having such simple resources at your disposal is that this kind of exercise becomes part of your routine. As Horace Mann said: 'Habit is a cable. We leave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.'
The temptation at the outset of any new challenge is to go into it expecting far too much of yourself. I remember the day before I started teaching getting a text message from my Dad, a highly experienced former teacher himself, which simply stated "Go for it, but remember: you don't need to be a fully qualified teacher by tomorrow afternoon." This summarises everything I've spent the last two days trying to explain: there's a big difference between challenging yourself with the targets you set, and biting off more than you can chew. Four months later, I understand that I'm not going to be revolutionising Spanish Bilingual Education- however this doesn't mean that I haven't performed the tasks expected of me to the best of my ability. Come May, I will feel content with the experience I've had, even if it hasn't lived up to the hype that previously surrounded it.
So besides putting effort in on the linguistic front, what other challenges have I set myself this year? As I said, my particular carrot is the thought of returning to University in September as prepared as I can be to put what I've learned this year into practice. Even though it probably won't be the best year of my life, I'm sure it will still be the most valuable learning experience.
Many thanks, and until next time- which hopefully won't take another month to write...
'Perfection doesn't exist- but you have to look for it anyway.'
Pep Guardiola
Reference: New Year's Resolution Statistics, Statistic Brain Research Institute: http//www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics
Moreover, I don't buy the excuse of lacking motivation. If you weren't up for changing something, then you wouldn't set it as a goal. What I believe to be most important when setting goals for oneself is being realistic. Don't try and bite off more than you can chew immediately- it's much better to focus on small steps. It takes more time, but that means it's worth doing. These days, we live in a society in which the pressure to enact personal changes can be overwhelming. Almost everyday, we see new commercials for the latest FAD Diet or Self-Help book, or hear people on the radio talking about how they're going to shave their heads, move to Tibet and live in a monastery for a year. No thanks.
The most important first step to setting a goal is to work out what you really want. This sounds obvious but often people come up with things from scratch, without being sufficiently introspective first. What I mean is that it's better to map out a few different areas of your life and then write down targets for each that you would enjoy achieving, and would leave you feeling enriched as a result. I would call this 'Focusing Inwards to Achieve Outwards.'
The next part of this process involves being kind to yourself- this sounds extremely corny but bear with me. This is the absolute first step towards achieving any goal which you set yourself. Treat yourself as you'd treat others, so that if you make a mistake, you're able to draw a line under it and move on. I'm still getting to grips with this little step. It's been very easy to feel that, because I'm not as blissfully happy as my classmates I'm not making the most of this opportunity, rather than focusing on the multiple things I've done well. Goals require a certain amount of diligence, so you'll be better equipped to cope with mistakes by going into them with a positive mindset. We should all be allowed to make mistakes from time to time, and use them to focus on how far we have come and all we have previously achieved. So what does this mean for me?
Despite being employed as a teacher, for me this year is about learning. I've reached a point now where, with three months remaining before I pack my bags and say 'adios' to Granada, I'm asking myself: 'At what level do I want to be when I return to University in September?' This is a marked contrast to what I wanted to get out from this year at the start of September, and shows you how your perspective can, and indeed should, shift throughout, irrespective of the quality of your experience. This goal doesn't only apply to language-learning, but to athletic and social pursuits also. Though admittedly, acting like a sponge and trying to soak up all the Spanish know-how I can is the big one.
With your goal in mind, it's then your task to come up with various strategies that will allow you to attain it through repeated practice and self-improvement. This doesn't have to mean force-feeding yourself grammar tests (as a linguistic example) or other tedious things that don't work for you. You have to enjoy the process, or else the end result won't be what you wanted at the outset. An example for me this year would be religiously buying Diarios (Sports dailies) during the week, and noting down new words or phrases on my mobile each time I come across one- which is a lot. Then it's my job to put them into practice. This is just an example of something that works for me, as I'm able to read about something I enjoy -Spanish football- in my target language, and isn't something for which I need to set aside a scheduled hour each day. The beauty of having such simple resources at your disposal is that this kind of exercise becomes part of your routine. As Horace Mann said: 'Habit is a cable. We leave a thread of it each day, and at last we cannot break it.'
The temptation at the outset of any new challenge is to go into it expecting far too much of yourself. I remember the day before I started teaching getting a text message from my Dad, a highly experienced former teacher himself, which simply stated "Go for it, but remember: you don't need to be a fully qualified teacher by tomorrow afternoon." This summarises everything I've spent the last two days trying to explain: there's a big difference between challenging yourself with the targets you set, and biting off more than you can chew. Four months later, I understand that I'm not going to be revolutionising Spanish Bilingual Education- however this doesn't mean that I haven't performed the tasks expected of me to the best of my ability. Come May, I will feel content with the experience I've had, even if it hasn't lived up to the hype that previously surrounded it.
So besides putting effort in on the linguistic front, what other challenges have I set myself this year? As I said, my particular carrot is the thought of returning to University in September as prepared as I can be to put what I've learned this year into practice. Even though it probably won't be the best year of my life, I'm sure it will still be the most valuable learning experience.
Many thanks, and until next time- which hopefully won't take another month to write...
'Perfection doesn't exist- but you have to look for it anyway.'
Pep Guardiola
Reference: New Year's Resolution Statistics, Statistic Brain Research Institute: http//www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics
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