“If I can’t exercise for at least an hour, it’s not even worth getting started. I’ll always be out of shape.”
“Since I already ate too much for dinner, I may as well just have 2 slices of cake for dessert anyway – I’ll never lose weight.”
“I can’t find time in my schedule to devote to learning a language, so why should I even try?”
Do the quotes above sound familiar to you? They’re examples of all-or-nothing thinking, which is one of the most common types of cognitive distortions, and it sabotages our ability to improve our lives – even when making small changes that will drastically improve our lives is totally doable.
At LalTal, we speak with a lot of people who want to improve their lives by improving their Spanish! One of the most common obstacles we see is that people feel as though they need to devote a full hour each week to a live tutoring session, and they just don’t have that kind of time. (All-or-nothing thinking shows itself in lots of different ways, but this is one of the most common.)
What we have learned is that, not only is tutoring for an hour once a week not a very good learning strategy, but it tends to set people up for feelings of failure if they can’t make it happen. The cognitive distortion is so strong that some people feel they have failed before they even get started.
That’s one of the reasons that LalTal is set up to help you change your habits gradually, in just 10 minutes each day. We know that, when it comes to learning a language, something is better than nothing, and consistency is key, so we connect you with a coach who works with you to set up a learning plan that works in your life right now – even if it’s just a few minutes of conversation before you go to bed each night.
1% Better Every Day
Often, when we incorporate a new habit into our lives we’re eager to see immediate results and not seeing them can discourage us and cause us to give up. But it might surprise you that just getting 1% better every day can lead you to an outstanding result in a relatively short amount of time.
As James Clear states in his Atomic Habits: “When you finally break through the Plateau of Latent Potential, people will call it an overnight success.”
So, practicing a tiny bit each day is a more effective way to get you real results. When you’re ready to add more practice, your coach will work with you to do that. Or if you’re super-busy at work or your kid is sick and needs extra attention this week, your coach can reduce the load so that you can keep moving forward every day – even if it’s just a little. We help you defeat all-or-nothing thinking by rewarding progress, not perfection.
If you want to improve your Spanish and other approaches haven’t worked for you in the past, why not take one action right now to get started moving toward that goal? Click below to find out if LalTal might be right for you. Remember something is better than nothing, so start your Spanish journey today.
