Thank you for saying that regarding study and work as a part of life is important. I think that people in my society, including myself, separate working and school from the idea of becoming a better person. The reason why is because many people work boring jobs that do not have a purpose or go to school to get a degree and become a employee with a piece of paper. Finding something you are passionate about and studying it develops the mind and creates a positive attitude.
4:00 the most important thing I've learned about learning through language-learning is that having goals is important, but you can't set a goal for something that simply can't have a specific date and time to be reached. Learning a language is not like going on a trip. You can't say "I'm starting (leaving) on March 3 and I'll finish (be fluent) on April 5". It doesn't matter the length of time, be it 3 months, 6 months, a year, five years, you simply don't go to bed not fluent on one day and wake up fluent on the other. You can set goals like: I'll learn 5 words a day But you can't set goals like: I'll be fluent by the end of the year. Fluency is subjective and learning is a never-ending process.
honestly this inspired me to stop being so obsessed with having a study plan and sticking to it religiously. I realized a few days ago that I wasn’t even enjoying my time learning languages because I was merely focused on efficiency and productivity. I think I will be taking your new approach to language learning and simply letting curiosity and desire lead me. Thank you ♥️
Thank you for this message. I started a position as an assistant prof in 2019, the year of the pandemic, while also recently starting a family. Between trying to get established in my so-called "dream job", I've lost (almost) all of my fire, feeling torn in too many directions. Recently, my child was born and I had the dream of teaching them a language, which somehow (youtube algorithm) led me to your page. This morning, not only did this video helped me realize how to better not only approach teaching my child/ children new languages with a different mindset, it has also helped me be more mindful and perhaps less productive. As someone who values curiosity and the pursuit of truth, and has felt that spirit under constant assault both personally and societally for what seems like forever, I think it's messages and people like yourself that help hold some sort of "chain" of humanity together. It spoke to the unknown part of me that has been unable to stop being hyper-focused on tasks, even though these tasks are perhaps important to my family and own dreams. I know my road out of burnout is still a long one, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated your channel. So, thank you for giving me hope!
영상 너무 잘봤습니다! 가장 마음에 와닿는 비디오네요. 나의 하루는 항상 생산적이어야 하고 진취적이어야 한다는 강박이 오히려 나를 늦추는 결과를 낳았던 것 같아요. 내가 왜 이 일을 좋아했는지 왜 시작했는지 잊어버리기도 했습니다. 여유를 갖고 도전 자체를 즐기고 결과보단 그 과정에서 행복을 찾는 모습이 중요한 것 같습니다. 감사해요 제가 놓쳤던 부분을 일깨워주신 것 같습니다.
hobbies are supposed to be fun and not stress you out. if it is becoming painful for you then something is definitely not right! amazing video as always with an extremely interesting and inspiring message :D love from brasil
Your words are the wisest of any I have ever heard; I can't express how much these simple videos really change the way I see everything in my life. Thank you!
thank you for this reality check! it's hard to enjoy free time without feeling guilty these days because it seems like everyone is hyper-productive and accomplishes so much
I don't know how I stumbled upon your channel, but it is so refreshing to hear your take on this. As an aspiring polyglot who is already bilingual, this helps me stay grounded in thought and kind of changed my perception about it a bit. Thanks man!
I love your videos. It is very soothing and inspiring as well. Most of the people out there promote the hustle culture, but you instill a sense of pleasure or joy in seeking or doing what you do or rather, what you love to do. I'd love to see more videos from your side sharing your learning experiences and the fun you had in particular areas of your journey. Much love ❤️
You’re already so inspiring, please don’t be sorry for feeling tired. You do what your heart desires. Give yourself a break, go travelling around the world. Sure your amazing multilingual abilities would come to great use and cheer u up again!!
Phoenix, your video has profoundly resonated with me. It looks like we belong to a similar specie of human. I am too a linguaphile, I too am filled with an insatiable curiosity for the world and an unwavering yearning for knowledge. I guess you would call me a polymath. Every day i find myself wanting to know more and learn more. The day I stop learning will be the day i stop breathing, being. I consider myself an autodidact, self-thought and at times a perfectionist and I find immersing myself in written or spoken words allows me to vibe at a higher frequency, doing homework allows me to relax, to unwind, to recharge my batteries. And I do it, wether studying, writing or drawing, with Meraki. Decoding and speaking new languages is a tedious experience, a true exercise in patience, but what i love most is that it allows you to become someone else, it allows you to see the world in a different way, to gain a new perspective on life, to reach incredible people, to understand history a little better, to transcend political and personal barriers. But from time to time, I feel overwhelmed. As much as I love it a few times a year I feel I need to pause and do something else. I am one of those people that do look to get the most of my 24 hours, but sometimes we have to listen to our body and minds and surf the wave. Like the ocean tide, our minds are in constant motion.Aren't we made of vibrating atoms anyway? I have been writing a book for the past couple of years and have struggled with consistent inspiration. I am at 200 pages. Some days I feel it will come to completion and its characters have almost become part of me, but other times I feel it has utterly become a ball and chain that is slowly killing me. The truth is it will take the time it will take to complete, I come and I go, I write or I don't write, but in the meantime I need to continue living. It is so true that to enjoy anything you don't have to be a professional at it or speak it like a native you just have to try and give it a go without rigid expectations and overwhelming deadlines. As a writer the wind of inspiration can come suddenly and it can blow for hours straight, your mind flooded with such intense creative powers but then all of a sudden it dies out on you and your sails are once again immobile and you are left hanging. Well, I firmly believe that when the moment is right and the stars aligned it is time to tap into that power. When in that headspace your body learns tremendously quickly, but sometimes we need to also be still and quiet. " Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand" Perhaps we need to find the balance between the two. Sometimes I worry life will pass me by if I keep on going at 200 miles an hour. Maybe just maybe we need to release and surrender as the more we try and control the less we live. Covid has taught us to slow down. It's not necessarily about the result, but the journey. Releasing and slowing down does not necessarily mean being less of a learner does it ? I will leave you with the following quotes perhaps you will enjoy them too: Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going? (T.Williams) Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears (Albert Camus). Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, don't swim in the same slough. Invent yourself and reinvent yourself and stay out of the clutches of mediocrity. Be self-taught...(C.Bukowski) Ciò che neghi ti sottomette, Ciò che accetti ti trasforma (Jung). There is so much more to say, but i will stop here. Thank you Phoenix for a brutally honest, but beautifully calming and soothing video. I am glad to see I am not alone !
Just leave this comment to say you're great and what I enjoy even more than your interest and your passion in learning new languages is your thoughts and the way you put them in words. Amazing. Очень круто. Удачи и успехов тебе во всём и дай бог здоровья.
Thank you for your inspiring words. I used to study in London and after 7 years of living and speaking and thinking and dreaming in a foreign language, I could never get rid of feeling German deep inside because my original country and the language formed my Spirit. So I returned home cause I realized that I needed the German language and environment to unfold my visions and my talents. But I am still grateful for the diversity of world cultures influencing and shaping our overall experience of human live, enriching our experience in this world, reminding us, that we are all one human family. Herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland 🙏
you’re so inspiring :] watching you makes me want to learn languages even if it means risking my sense of self which you talked about in previous videos. i just don’t want to be restricted to one worldview anymore- i really want to see the world in all its aspects even if that time is limited, but i currently don’t have the means to study another language with the amount of time it requires. maybe in the future! anyways i just wanted to say i admire you lots and only wish you the best!
Very pleasant to find someone who has had the same problem as me. It was very helpful to hear your thoughts, hope we go through a better time to dive into languages in the future
Sometimes breaks and change of strategy is necessary. I feel you, I hit that that point last year studying languages on top of masters. One burns out. And whatever our goals, taking a step back it's healthy. I've tried to change, again, the view on language learning and go back to actually enjoy them and not for the sole purpose of being productive and intense goals as you mentioned in your video ( i need to reach B2 by x). Glad you are enjoying it again. Salut, hasta luego, tchuss,また！
I had the very same experience after I had finished studying and started working. Suddenly, there is much less time for learning languages, weekends are short and you feel too exhausted to learn vocabolary then. My foreign languages became Sleeping Beauties. Just very recently, 5 years later, I've found a way to enjoy the beauty of different languages in a very small dosis, learning only one or two new terms every day. And I carry these single vocabularies like a secret little treasure through my every day life, without expectations or plans or pressure. Still use to watch movies and series in my languages in order not to forget everything, but without any pressure. I want languages to be my pleasure, not my pressure.
This video really inspired me cos I’m learning English on my own and today I sat and wondered how can I speak a fluent English and how long it will take anyway I will try to be fun with learning English enjoy it as a hobby don’t treat it as an assignment thank you so much!
Thank you for this. 😊 Such a timely reminder. I started learning Chinese just two months ago and I used to be anxious when I couldn't study this and that amount of time in a day thinking that I might lose my progress and forget what I studied. 😁. But I'm learning now not to put so much pressure on myself and just enjoy the process. Indeed, learning it in a way like a hobby that I enjoy makes learning more fun and productive. 😊
Wow, I love the fact that you are learning Uyghur language! I spent most of the day yesterday writing about a trip I once did to former East Turkestan and about how happy I was there and how much the on-going cultural genocide of the Uyghurs horrifies me. I started missing Uyghur food a lot but I might go to Istanbul soon where I have visited Uyghur neighborhoods and know I can get great food and meet people in the diaspora, but only talk to them in Chinese as I speak no Uyghur and no Turkish.
So inspired and resonated with what you shared in this video I'm now on the verge of being drowned in trying to be productive. Anxiety seems to have become a shadow in my life maybe it's time to slow down. THANKS
Изучение иностранных языков само по себе большое вдохновение. И превращение изучения в продуктивность иногда стирает это вдохновение. Мне очень понравился ваш итог, что изучение должно нас радовать и никак иначе!!! Спасибо вам за все то тепло и поддержку, что вы нам дарили!!!))))
Wow, I can completely relate to what you're saying. Learning while brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, I totally do that. Lately, in the middle of work, a gnawing thought suddenly blasts its way into my consciousness which then continues down to pierce my heart making me realise that I'm missing studying Chinese or reviewing French verb forms which I used to know by heart and have forgotten. This thought leaves as quickly as it arrives but happens multiple times a day. I'm doing my best to sooth this aching by assuring myself that I will find time and organise my day better...and even try to dream in Chinese. Haha. Take good care of yourself. Love your videos!
I would like to thank you, for making me reflect about various decisions in my own life. As I analyze you are a very intelligent and wise man. Truly inspiring!
Totally agree. I slow down my self this year to doing more exercise and reading, instead spend all times on my career. Sometimes we are too nervous on wasting time.
This helped me gain another perspective. I try not to make it a burden and was worried I was but I realize that it helps me get out of laziness and I do enjoy it. Just gotta make sure to remember to enjoy this, it isn't some exam or something its life and I should use a similar attitude to how I usually do with some more serious as it does require consistent practice.
Tienes demasiada razón. En fin, mi vida parece no tener un rumbo fijo. Quiero ser como tú, hablar con personas de otras partes del mundo y ya, simplemente ser feliz, quién no quiere eso.
Thank you for this video. I am a classical piano teacher and definitely feel the unwarranted pressure to learn more piano repertoire when I am not working. Thank you for your reminder and sharing!
the same thing happened to my son , he stopped his productivity in playing violin when he felt no enjoyment of pursuing to master it , now my son plays violin just for fun releasing his stress not as a carreer and chooses to be a student in psychology major
On occasions when I feel burnt out on language learning, be it from doing it too much or worrying it won't benefit me in a career, I watch a video like this to remind myself that I shouldn't stress about about a hobby. Thanks for helping keep my motives straight!
This is amazing content and I needed to watch this vid. I have been struggling to take my Turkish to the next level, to prepare for toefl exam and to start learning German language from zero to fluency in this year. I find it arduous and I decided to put all my time and efforts into improving my English and Turkish instead of starting a new language.
This reminds me of when people say something along the lines of your hobby becoming your job and then not being fun anymore becuase it is work now. I feel that way about drawing, when I starting trying to make money on it, the approach going into the art was "Can I sell this?" instead of just making whatever just for fun. I stopped making making art becuase it felt like a job, I want to get back to just having fun. Good lesson in your video, thank you.
I love your spirit and demeanor. Learned a lot form watching this and a couple other of your videos. Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom. Subbed ✊🏾
Hey Phoenix, I'm new to your channel and I found myself in the past. Now keeping just 1 language and just used it as a tool to my work in IT. Will dig into other vids on your channel
Thanks for the new brave ideas, I teach languages , I ve been learning English and french by myself, and this opened a maybe new door to looking at Language and the reasons we can never truely convey what we mean by using it.and I was wondering if its possible to share some of these ideas with a knowledgable and cool person whos open to new ideas, a person like you. id be an honor for me
Im watchin this video again.and I can feel the sadness and despair ,I hope you are recovered from it, although I doubt anyone can recover fully from such results after ages of study passionately. I dont speak fulently as I should as a language teacher, but sth has blocked my path to willingly go on . and I havent found anyone to share my experience with. and see if its the same sadness we both feel, and then try to come up with some ideas and invite people like us to join and find a solution for this desperate human community..sth bigger than language learning, cuz the problem lies somewhere else.
Wow, I'm literally trying to make my hobby of learning Japanese into a career. But it's difficult for me to believe that your fluency in several languages hasn't been an asset in the marketplace... your Spanish pronunciation is top notch btw.
I am going through exactly the same right now. Studying for a masters leaves my brain fried at the end of the day, so the learning activities that I used to enjoy are now only creating anxiety, which in turn makes me even more anxious. But as you said, productivity shouldn't be the ultimate goal. Instead, why not try amor fati?
Hey, follow seattleite here. Thank you so much for the much needed advice. I have been putting so much pressure on myself to practice more that it prevents me from even trying. I just recently started practicing without any overaching goal, just to enjoy myself. This really helps
Absolutely beautiful reminder why we study things--for the fun of it. Planning every second of waking hours is an emotional straitjacket. Learn for the heck of it. Take breaks. Consider the strangeness and beauty of life.
That was a good video. I am learning French (my mother is Belgian but my Dad is Australian, like me, so I never grew up speaking French) and also Mandarin simply because I find Chinese history and culture fascinating. A year ago I started full-time work after working part-time for years. It is a mentally draining job and my language study suffered straight away as I had so much training for my new job. I just got the hang of my job and in December got switched to a new department, so am learning again. I was upset that my language study had pretty much stopped as my brain was fried by the end of the day. However, you are right, it's not all about goals. I started learning these languages because I enjoy language and would like to be comfortably conversational in them, not become an interpreter! I'm going to look at it as a fun hobby, not as something else I HAVE to do. Thanks for the video and enjoy your down time! 😁
No need to be stressed. We are learning languages to communicate, not to have more stress. And also I've been learning English for more than 10 years but cannot speak as you do.
Can't agree more. Being a professional sounds good but it becomes a job, sometimes a burden. Taking that as a hobby such as watching Netflix with the origin sound track without reading the captions is full of fun actually.
Love this. Started learning Japanese this year and when I was feeling burnt out I'd stop and play games or something. Thought maybe I'm doing it wrong but what I use to study even wrote "you're not studying for exams. Don't rush it. Learn at your own pace". So I remind myself to take breaks once in a while. I love anime so most of the time when I'm watching, I do learn new words😊
You almost lost me with the basketball analogy, but I get it. As a tennis player, I've gotten burned out on the sport. Same can happen for languages. Thanks for the perspective.
Phoenix, I really appreciate the sensibility you bring into the language-learning space, in this video and prior ones. I have a question about this though: What about that point in language-learning where, well, you don't want to keep learning it before you're really learnt much? I'm at A2 German level right now, and I'm just not motivated. But I've heard that such a lack of motivation always happens in the course of learning language, and you just gotta push through it. It's also said that practicing/studying everyday is really good for building a language, which is not something I'm inclined to do these days with German. I've been having a yearning to start learning Russian or Sanskrit; I'm sure that would be enjoyable, at least for a while. But I worry that then the feels for those would pass, and I'll just keep shuttling between languages without ever sticking to something for an intensive enough period of study to yield meaningful results. How would you integrate this with your reminder that language learning is/should be an enjoyable process?
It’s always the hardest part before you reach an intermediate/advanced level because you can’t yet enjoy any fun and sophisticated material in that language. My advice would be trying to find some content created for language learners at your specific level and start appreciating you progress by actively enjoying those contents. I guess with German you can find a lot of those contents on line, but it would be much harder with Sanskrit.
@@phoenixhou4486 Thanks for the response! If I hear you right you're basically saying stick with German, don't switch just yet. Right? But yeah, you're nailing it in terms of the tedium of the advanced beginners stage. I really find standard language-learning material dreadfully boring. But I'm not good enough yet for anything else. A few days ago, after a few months of half-assing it after a few months of full-assing it, I decided the only solution is to start reading something I'm really interested in. So tried to dive straight into Clausewitz's Vom Kriege. And... well, maybe I can do a few sentences a day of that, but it also seems somewhat futile. I'm actually leaning toward Russian more than Sanskrit tbh. I really want to learn Sanskrit (and Classical Chinese) for philosophical/spiritual reasons but that's not the priority in my life right now. What is your opinion on learning more than one language at the same time. I know it's generally not recommended, but still curious about your take specifically.
The thing is, more you learn more you realize that it is freaking unpredictable and unmeasurable. I was studying english for 7 years, i am not that smart to be honest, rather, i learned through constant motivation and hard work. Then i realized in university where every professor was native english speaker that no matter how much and hard i tried it always was not enough. Although my english level according to my tutors is upper intermediate, i still cannot understand a lot of things in English culture and literature and i am still learning it. Life becomes painful, i'd say, you cannot directly and honestly say to yourself "yes i am sure that i am on right way, yes i have pretty decent skills in English", rather in your mind constant doubts and battles. Getting knowledge requires always somesort of sacrifices, and i think burnouts and painful doubts are consequences of this deal, because doing sacrifice is very hard, you are giving your time, other alternatives of enjoying life and self-realization in exchange to vague possiblity of being little bit more uniquer than others. Key point is VAGUE, not 100% guarantee. And in the end you can only blame yourself for this, if you are failed, nobody is responsible, nobody and noone could refill your losses. That is why it is very hard to "remedy" burnouts and other not-so-funny things, because you are falling to uncertainty and then it is too hard to come out of it, because you start to understand that a lot of people never have fallen into it, but on the way of doing it. And only thing they can do is giving useless advices, which are too general and superficial.
So inspiring. Flexibly changing strategies is always good. You sir are my hero.
Thank you!!!ほんとにありがとう！
It is really a blessing to have such insight and realise when things aren't going the way you thought and changing course
Its wierd to me to find a person on youtube worthy of title hero. But he is dam close. Honest and thoughtful
英语发音很标准
当很多人用羡慕的眼光望着你的时候, 你就会觉得当初的努力没有白费，相反而会希望当初的自己可以学的更刻苦，用更有效的方法练习语言。当然，使人们能够持久开心的也并不只是享受那短短几分钟人前显贵的感觉，而是每天都知道自己是在 “walking uphill “。最幸福的事情莫过于把学习和工作当成生活中的一部分，比起一些人天天享乐要好几倍。不断地学习是真正抗击虚无主义和抑郁的最好也是唯一的良药，我还是个学生但这是我亲身体会的。你努力的方向是对的，不要怀疑自己的effort,如果换成另外一种生活方式的话我觉得并不会比现在的更好, 惭愧感和无力感会随之而来。但是哥你真的挺刚的，是时候要休息一下了，效果反而可能会更好。以前教我英语的一个教授就说，很多时候就是越钻牛角尖效果越差，放松一下过段时间反而会发现效果倍增。可以的话给自己放个小长假，疫情过后去国外试着去和你目标语言的母语者沟通，当他们夸赞你的时候，当你发现自己可以无障碍和他们用别人听不懂的语言沟通的时候，我相信你会有很大的成就感的和幸福感。花上大量精力时间学习，虽然会给你带来不成比例的peaceful time, 但却是值得的，给我们本无意义的人生带来意义。
你说得很棒，我也有过这种感觉。
好胜心与名利欲
Thank you for saying that regarding study and work as a part of life is important. I think that people in my society, including myself, separate working and school from the idea of becoming a better person. The reason why is because many people work boring jobs that do not have a purpose or go to school to get a degree and become a employee with a piece of paper. Finding something you are passionate about and studying it develops the mind and creates a positive attitude.
哈哈，健身也有这种感觉。前阵子有差不多十天时间，特别累，有时间就躺着，感觉身体恢复后再继续运动，居然还有进步。
4:00 the most important thing I've learned about learning through language-learning is that having goals is important, but you can't set a goal for something that simply can't have a specific date and time to be reached.
Learning a language is not like going on a trip. You can't say "I'm starting (leaving) on March 3 and I'll finish (be fluent) on April 5".
It doesn't matter the length of time, be it 3 months, 6 months, a year, five years, you simply don't go to bed not fluent on one day and wake up fluent on the other.
You can set goals like: I'll learn 5 words a day
But you can't set goals like: I'll be fluent by the end of the year.
Fluency is subjective and learning is a never-ending process.
honestly this inspired me to stop being so obsessed with having a study plan and sticking to it religiously. I realized a few days ago that I wasn’t even enjoying my time learning languages because I was merely focused on efficiency and productivity. I think I will be taking your new approach to language learning and simply letting curiosity and desire lead me. Thank you ♥️
Thank you for this message. I started a position as an assistant prof in 2019, the year of the pandemic, while also recently starting a family. Between trying to get established in my so-called "dream job", I've lost (almost) all of my fire, feeling torn in too many directions. Recently, my child was born and I had the dream of teaching them a language, which somehow (youtube algorithm) led me to your page. This morning, not only did this video helped me realize how to better not only approach teaching my child/ children new languages with a different mindset, it has also helped me be more mindful and perhaps less productive. As someone who values curiosity and the pursuit of truth, and has felt that spirit under constant assault both personally and societally for what seems like forever, I think it's messages and people like yourself that help hold some sort of "chain" of humanity together. It spoke to the unknown part of me that has been unable to stop being hyper-focused on tasks, even though these tasks are perhaps important to my family and own dreams. I know my road out of burnout is still a long one, but I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated your channel. So, thank you for giving me hope!
Really like what you said. somehow poetic
NO, THANK YOU!! i really needed that, you're simply inspirational man!
영상 너무 잘봤습니다! 가장 마음에 와닿는 비디오네요. 나의 하루는 항상 생산적이어야 하고 진취적이어야 한다는 강박이 오히려 나를 늦추는 결과를 낳았던 것 같아요. 내가 왜 이 일을 좋아했는지 왜 시작했는지 잊어버리기도 했습니다. 여유를 갖고 도전 자체를 즐기고 결과보단 그 과정에서 행복을 찾는 모습이 중요한 것 같습니다. 감사해요 제가 놓쳤던 부분을 일깨워주신 것 같습니다.
hobbies are supposed to be fun and not stress you out. if it is becoming painful for you then something is definitely not right! amazing video as always with an extremely interesting and inspiring message :D love from brasil
Thank you!!
Profound, inspiring and aesthetically pleasing as always 👏
Thank you!
For real. I really like how he tells us a story. With some short clips from his own life. That is amazing
Your words are the wisest of any I have ever heard; I can't express how much these simple videos really change the way I see everything in my life. Thank you!
Thank you!
Tu es une grande inspiration, comme un grand sage chinois qu'il faut trouver au bout du chemin dans la forêt. Continue comme ça!
Hahahah je cherche ma forêt
😂😂 Wesh!! Je ne m'y attendais vraiment pas haha. Ton commentaire est trop drôle. Mais c'est vrai qu'il pourrait être un grand sage chinois.
完全同意候同学的论点，尤其是当下地球在加速开倒车的时候，有太多事情需要人类社会找到有效的方法去积极应对，所以我个人更倾向于把政治改革排在个人对于语言的诉求之上。
Your perspective is exactly what I needed in the current fork of my life. Thank you for your important point! ❤️
When a video is just what you needed
Fantastic video! I've been in the same predicament at times. Always good to refocus and remind ourselves why we love the process in the first place.
Yes! Joy is always the goal!
For real. I feel like if you are not enjoying the process, then you also are not improving you know.
thank you for this reality check! it's hard to enjoy free time without feeling guilty these days because it seems like everyone is hyper-productive and accomplishes so much
You are so right man
I don't know how I stumbled upon your channel, but it is so refreshing to hear your take on this. As an aspiring polyglot who is already bilingual, this helps me stay grounded in thought and kind of changed my perception about it a bit. Thanks man!
I love your videos. It is very soothing and inspiring as well. Most of the people out there promote the hustle culture, but you instill a sense of pleasure or joy in seeking or doing what you do or rather, what you love to do. I'd love to see more videos from your side sharing your learning experiences and the fun you had in particular areas of your journey. Much love ❤️
Thank you sooo much!!
谢谢你的影片，谢谢你的故事一直激励我。
去年我开始兼职做中文老师，也是逼着自己学习越南语的一种方式，也认识了激励我的同事。人在越南，可是工作和生活都不用，到现在也没有B1，我的德语和日语也一样，都只起了个头，不时佛系背词。倒是应该利用好身边的学习资源，不能再像当初考雅思烧钱学英语的时候那样了。
这支的标题，让我想起当初在油管上发现你的那支，学外语是如何毁了我的。语重心长，振奋人心。祝愿所有学习者都保护好他们最初的好奇和热情。
You’re already so inspiring, please don’t be sorry for feeling tired. You do what your heart desires.
Give yourself a break, go travelling around the world. Sure your amazing multilingual abilities would come to great use and cheer u up again!!
Phoenix, your video has profoundly resonated with me. It looks like we belong to a similar specie of human. I am too a linguaphile, I too am filled with an insatiable curiosity for the world and an unwavering yearning for knowledge. I guess you would call me a polymath. Every day i find myself wanting to know more and learn more. The day I stop learning will be the day i stop breathing, being. I consider myself an autodidact, self-thought and at times a perfectionist and I find immersing myself in written or spoken words allows me to vibe at a higher frequency, doing homework allows me to relax, to unwind, to recharge my batteries. And I do it, wether studying, writing or drawing, with Meraki. Decoding and speaking new languages is a tedious experience, a true exercise in patience, but what i love most is that it allows you to become someone else, it allows you to see the world in a different way, to gain a new perspective on life, to reach incredible people, to understand history a little better, to transcend political and personal barriers. But from time to time, I feel overwhelmed. As much as I love it a few times a year I feel I need to pause and do something else. I am one of those people that do look to get the most of my 24 hours, but sometimes we have to listen to our body and minds and surf the wave. Like the ocean tide, our minds are in constant motion.Aren't we made of vibrating atoms anyway? I have been writing a book for the past couple of years and have struggled with consistent inspiration. I am at 200 pages. Some days I feel it will come to completion and its characters have almost become part of me, but other times I feel it has utterly become a ball and chain that is slowly killing me. The truth is it will take the time it will take to complete, I come and I go, I write or I don't write, but in the meantime I need to continue living. It is so true that to enjoy anything you don't have to be a professional at it or speak it like a native you just have to try and give it a go without rigid expectations and overwhelming deadlines. As a writer the wind of inspiration can come suddenly and it can blow for hours straight, your mind flooded with such intense creative powers but then all of a sudden it dies out on you and your sails are once again immobile and you are left hanging. Well, I firmly believe that when the moment is right and the stars aligned it is time to tap into that power. When in that headspace your body learns tremendously quickly, but sometimes we need to also be still and quiet. " Knowledge without wisdom is like water in the sand" Perhaps we need to find the balance between the two. Sometimes I worry life will pass me by if I keep on going at 200 miles an hour. Maybe just maybe we need to release and surrender as the more we try and control the less we live. Covid has taught us to slow down. It's not necessarily about the result, but the journey. Releasing and slowing down does not necessarily mean being less of a learner does it ? I will leave you with the following quotes perhaps you will enjoy them too: Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going? (T.Williams) Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears (Albert Camus). Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself, don't swim in the same slough. Invent yourself and reinvent yourself and stay out of the clutches of mediocrity. Be self-taught...(C.Bukowski) Ciò che neghi ti sottomette, Ciò che accetti ti trasforma (Jung). There is so much more to say, but i will stop here. Thank you Phoenix for a brutally honest, but beautifully calming and soothing video. I am glad to see I am not alone !
Just leave this comment to say you're great and what I enjoy even more than your interest and your passion in learning new languages is your thoughts and the way you put them in words. Amazing.
Очень круто. Удачи и успехов тебе во всём и дай бог здоровья.
講得真好～很激勵人學習的一段分享✨謝謝你，真的很開心看到你的影片🙌🏻
謝謝您抽空分享學習語言的心路歷程，從您的頻道裡得到很多啟發。喜歡自己做的事情並且認真專注在每個當下，一定會比把自己逼得喘不過氣還要好上許多，加油~~
很高興你喜歡！一起加油！💪🏼
It's mesmerising to hear your heart-spoken message.
Thank you for your inspiring words. I used to study in London and after 7 years of living and speaking and thinking and dreaming in a foreign language, I could never get rid of feeling German deep inside because my original country and the language formed my Spirit. So I returned home cause I realized that I needed the German language and environment to unfold my visions and my talents. But I am still grateful for the diversity of world cultures influencing and shaping our overall experience of human live, enriching our experience in this world, reminding us, that we are all one human family. Herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland 🙏
Love this message. I think age has a huge role to play in the mature development and approach to life in general, learning languages included 👍🧸
“Enjoy your adventures and don’t make it a burden” …. Amazing words.
I think you’re really intelligent and I find your voice really calming :)
Enjoy your adventure and don’t make it a burden. I couldn’t agree with you more.
you’re so inspiring :] watching you makes me want to learn languages even if it means risking my sense of self which you talked about in previous videos. i just don’t want to be restricted to one worldview anymore- i really want to see the world in all its aspects even if that time is limited, but i currently don’t have the means to study another language with the amount of time it requires. maybe in the future! anyways i just wanted to say i admire you lots and only wish you the best!
Thank you! The same to you!
Very pleasant to find someone who has had the same problem as me. It was very helpful to hear your thoughts, hope we go through a better time to dive into languages in the future
Sometimes breaks and change of strategy is necessary. I feel you, I hit that that point last year studying languages on top of masters. One burns out. And whatever our goals, taking a step back it's healthy. I've tried to change, again, the view on language learning and go back to actually enjoy them and not for the sole purpose of being productive and intense goals as you mentioned in your video ( i need to reach B2 by x). Glad you are enjoying it again. Salut, hasta luego, tchuss,また！
I had the very same experience after I had finished studying and started working. Suddenly, there is much less time for learning languages, weekends are short and you feel too exhausted to learn vocabolary then. My foreign languages became Sleeping Beauties. Just very recently, 5 years later, I've found a way to enjoy the beauty of different languages in a very small dosis, learning only one or two new terms every day. And I carry these single vocabularies like a secret little treasure through my every day life, without expectations or plans or pressure. Still use to watch movies and series in my languages in order not to forget everything, but without any pressure. I want languages to be my pleasure, not my pressure.
This video really inspired me cos I’m learning English on my own and today I sat and wondered how can I speak a fluent English and how long it will take anyway I will try to be fun with learning English enjoy it as a hobby don’t treat it as an assignment thank you so much!
Thank you for this. 😊 Such a timely reminder.
I started learning Chinese just two months ago and I used to be anxious when I couldn't study this and that amount of time in a day thinking that I might lose my progress and forget what I studied. 😁. But I'm learning now not to put so much pressure on myself and just enjoy the process. Indeed, learning it in a way like a hobby that I enjoy makes learning more fun and productive. 😊
在别的学习版up主都在拼高效打鸡血的时候，难得有一个声音要我们停一停。欣赏博主的真实，也很有启发，人生是有极限的，不可能同时做好100件事，给生活留白或许是对抗焦虑和内卷的良方。
谢谢！掌握好自己的节奏最重要🤝
Wow, I love the fact that you are learning Uyghur language! I spent most of the day yesterday writing about a trip I once did to former East Turkestan and about how happy I was there and how much the on-going cultural genocide of the Uyghurs horrifies me. I started missing Uyghur food a lot but I might go to Istanbul soon where I have visited Uyghur neighborhoods and know I can get great food and meet people in the diaspora, but only talk to them in Chinese as I speak no Uyghur and no Turkish.
So inspired and resonated with what you shared in this video I'm now on the verge of being drowned in trying to be productive. Anxiety seems to have become a shadow in my life maybe it's time to slow down. THANKS
Изучение иностранных языков само по себе большое вдохновение. И превращение изучения в продуктивность иногда стирает это вдохновение. Мне очень понравился ваш итог, что изучение должно нас радовать и никак иначе!!! Спасибо вам за все то тепло и поддержку, что вы нам дарили!!!))))
Wow, I can completely relate to what you're saying. Learning while brushing your teeth, washing the dishes, I totally do that. Lately, in the middle of work, a gnawing thought suddenly blasts its way into my consciousness which then continues down to pierce my heart making me realise that I'm missing studying Chinese or reviewing French verb forms which I used to know by heart and have forgotten. This thought leaves as quickly as it arrives but happens multiple times a day. I'm doing my best to sooth this aching by assuring myself that I will find time and organise my day better...and even try to dream in Chinese. Haha. Take good care of yourself. Love your videos!
Spiritual growth is what you need, pray to God and ask him to left this burden from your heart, and to lead you to the right path.
All the best
I would like to thank you, for making me reflect about various decisions in my own life. As I analyze you are a very intelligent and wise man.
Truly inspiring!
Totally agree. I slow down my self this year to doing more exercise and reading, instead spend all times on my career. Sometimes we are too nervous on wasting time.
Thank you so much for making this video, I feel so much better !
いつも興味深い動画の配信有り難うございます。何事も楽しむことを忘れてはいけないですね。自分も自分を見つめ直そうと思います。
Love this channel. Such a gem. I really enjoy your thoughtful and genuine content. Will share with my friends.
Thank you!!
I really love your videos. The production quality is amazing. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
This helped me gain another perspective. I try not to make it a burden and was worried I was but I realize that it helps me get out of laziness and I do enjoy it. Just gotta make sure to remember to enjoy this, it isn't some exam or something its life and I should use a similar attitude to how I usually do with some more serious as it does require consistent practice.
Great video mate! You are an inspiration for language enthusiasts like me! I hope I can learn from the new mindset you have acquired! Best wishes!
Thank you! Best wishes to you too!
Tienes demasiada razón. En fin, mi vida parece no tener un rumbo fijo. Quiero ser como tú, hablar con personas de otras partes del mundo y ya, simplemente ser feliz, quién no quiere eso.
This video is just what I needed to hear today. Thank you for your wisdom and awesome content, much appreciated 🥰
Thanks! Really glad you liked it!
Thank you for this video. I am a classical piano teacher and definitely feel the unwarranted pressure to learn more piano repertoire when I am not working. Thank you for your reminder and sharing!
the same thing happened to my son , he stopped his productivity in playing violin when he felt no enjoyment of pursuing to master it , now my son plays violin just for fun releasing his stress not as a carreer and chooses to be a student in psychology major
On occasions when I feel burnt out on language learning, be it from doing it too much or worrying it won't benefit me in a career, I watch a video like this to remind myself that I shouldn't stress about about a hobby.
Thanks for helping keep my motives straight!
감사합니다. 오늘 많이 힘들었는데... 큰 힘이 됐습니다.
It was beautiful, thank you phoenix, on our roads to a more fulfiling life 🍃
Thank you!!
This is amazing content and I needed to watch this vid. I have been struggling to take my Turkish to the next level, to prepare for toefl exam and to start learning German language from zero to fluency in this year. I find it arduous and I decided to put all my time and efforts into improving my English and Turkish instead of starting a new language.
I needed that! Thank you for sharing...
Thank you so much, You're my life teacher 🥰🤗
Thank you.
Very beautiful and touching 💚 wish u the best
This reminds me of when people say something along the lines of your hobby becoming your job and then not being fun anymore becuase it is work now. I feel that way about drawing, when I starting trying to make money on it, the approach going into the art was "Can I sell this?" instead of just making whatever just for fun. I stopped making making art becuase it felt like a job, I want to get back to just having fun. Good lesson in your video, thank you.
I love your spirit and demeanor. Learned a lot form watching this and a couple other of your videos. Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom. Subbed ✊🏾
你的英语真的很优美，我很希望有一天我也能达到你这种程度
忙是心亡，人生本是一個又一個的過程，祝福你莫忘初心。
谢谢！希望你也是！
Thank you! Great message
Hey Phoenix, I'm new to your channel and I found myself in the past. Now keeping just 1 language and just used it as a tool to my work in IT. Will dig into other vids on your channel
謝謝你的這段視頻，很鼓勵我的學習
thank u I was definitely needing to listen to this
such a high-quality dosage of enlightenment, thanks!
Thanks! Glad you like it!
Thanks for the new brave ideas, I teach languages , I ve been learning English and french by myself, and this opened a maybe new door to looking at Language and the reasons we can never truely convey what we mean by using it.and I was wondering if its possible to share some of these ideas with a knowledgable and cool person whos open to new ideas, a person like you. id be an honor for me
Im watchin this video again.and I can feel the sadness and despair ,I hope you are recovered from it, although I doubt anyone can recover fully from such results after ages of study passionately. I dont speak fulently as I should as a language teacher, but sth has blocked my path to willingly go on . and I havent found anyone to share my experience with. and see if its the same sadness we both feel, and then try to come up with some ideas and invite people like us to join and find a solution for this desperate human community..sth bigger than language learning, cuz the problem lies somewhere else.
Wow, I'm literally trying to make my hobby of learning Japanese into a career. But it's difficult for me to believe that your fluency in several languages hasn't been an asset in the marketplace... your Spanish pronunciation is top notch btw.
I am going through exactly the same right now. Studying for a masters leaves my brain fried at the end of the day, so the learning activities that I used to enjoy are now only creating anxiety, which in turn makes me even more anxious. But as you said, productivity shouldn't be the ultimate goal. Instead, why not try amor fati?
Boa sorte nos estudos! Espero que consiga encontrar um pouco de paz nesse mundo caótico em que vivemos.
I needed this. Thank you.
Beautiful! Here's to a life filled with joyful moments!
Hey, follow seattleite here. Thank you so much for the much needed advice. I have been putting so much pressure on myself to practice more that it prevents me from even trying. I just recently started practicing without any overaching goal, just to enjoy myself. This really helps
Thank you! Glad you liked it!
Great speech, abraço caloroso do Brasil 🇧🇷
Absolutely beautiful reminder why we study things--for the fun of it. Planning every second of waking hours is an emotional straitjacket. Learn for the heck of it. Take breaks. Consider the strangeness and beauty of life.
That was a good video. I am learning French (my mother is Belgian but my Dad is Australian, like me, so I never grew up speaking French) and also Mandarin simply because I find Chinese history and culture fascinating. A year ago I started full-time work after working part-time for years. It is a mentally draining job and my language study suffered straight away as I had so much training for my new job. I just got the hang of my job and in December got switched to a new department, so am learning again. I was upset that my language study had pretty much stopped as my brain was fried by the end of the day. However, you are right, it's not all about goals. I started learning these languages because I enjoy language and would like to be comfortably conversational in them, not become an interpreter! I'm going to look at it as a fun hobby, not as something else I HAVE to do. Thanks for the video and enjoy your down time! 😁
I’m jealous of your multilingual upbringing haha
Furthermore, even if right now you don't find the time to study your languages, your love for them will always bring you back to it in the future
你成為一個更棒的人了👍
right video at the right time.... thx ❤🧿
No need to be stressed. We are learning languages to communicate, not to have more stress. And also I've been learning English for more than 10 years but cannot speak as you do.
Thank you!!🙏🏼
Is your name from 헬조선 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
@@phoenixhou4486 Yes! Absolutely! Living in Korea is soooo hard.
@@안녕하세요-w1s2d East Asia’s kinda the same haha
Thank you so much, needed this.
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!🙏🏼
Can't agree more. Being a professional sounds good but it becomes a job, sometimes a burden. Taking that as a hobby such as watching Netflix with the origin sound track without reading the captions is full of fun actually.
Exactly!
Vídeo muito bom! Sempre me inspira a continuar estudando outras línguas pela alegria e não pela produtividade
Thank you
感謝分享！❤
Love this. Started learning Japanese this year and when I was feeling burnt out I'd stop and play games or something. Thought maybe I'm doing it wrong but what I use to study even wrote "you're not studying for exams. Don't rush it. Learn at your own pace". So I remind myself to take breaks once in a while. I love anime so most of the time when I'm watching, I do learn new words😊
You almost lost me with the basketball analogy, but I get it. As a tennis player, I've gotten burned out on the sport. Same can happen for languages. Thanks for the perspective.
Instead of being burned out, relax and enjoy learning, trying various ways are important.
国内的教育体制 或者教育习惯把我们培养成一个功力主义的人，不是说功利主义不好，有时候做一件事如果过于聚焦到能够获得什么，其实就是去了对事情本身的专注力，太想要结果，在短期内；当然这很正常，是一种习惯，无非好与不好；轻装上阵，重在体验，获得该获得的，不让你获得的身体本身就在抗拒，so，体验最重要，侯先生。
利
感谢分享！
Thank you, Phoenix 💙 🍀
Thank you for your support too!
When something one used to enjoy becomes burdensome it’s time to slow down and switch gears. YOLO
Thanks for the reminder.
How I ended up finding this UA-cam channel? I’m not so sure, but what I do know now,it’s that I will subscribe and enjoy all the content.
Phoenix, I really appreciate the sensibility you bring into the language-learning space, in this video and prior ones. I have a question about this though: What about that point in language-learning where, well, you don't want to keep learning it before you're really learnt much? I'm at A2 German level right now, and I'm just not motivated. But I've heard that such a lack of motivation always happens in the course of learning language, and you just gotta push through it. It's also said that practicing/studying everyday is really good for building a language, which is not something I'm inclined to do these days with German. I've been having a yearning to start learning Russian or Sanskrit; I'm sure that would be enjoyable, at least for a while. But I worry that then the feels for those would pass, and I'll just keep shuttling between languages without ever sticking to something for an intensive enough period of study to yield meaningful results. How would you integrate this with your reminder that language learning is/should be an enjoyable process?
It’s always the hardest part before you reach an intermediate/advanced level because you can’t yet enjoy any fun and sophisticated material in that language. My advice would be trying to find some content created for language learners at your specific level and start appreciating you progress by actively enjoying those contents. I guess with German you can find a lot of those contents on line, but it would be much harder with Sanskrit.
@@phoenixhou4486 Thanks for the response! If I hear you right you're basically saying stick with German, don't switch just yet. Right?
But yeah, you're nailing it in terms of the tedium of the advanced beginners stage. I really find standard language-learning material dreadfully boring. But I'm not good enough yet for anything else. A few days ago, after a few months of half-assing it after a few months of full-assing it, I decided the only solution is to start reading something I'm really interested in. So tried to dive straight into Clausewitz's Vom Kriege. And... well, maybe I can do a few sentences a day of that, but it also seems somewhat futile.
I'm actually leaning toward Russian more than Sanskrit tbh. I really want to learn Sanskrit (and Classical Chinese) for philosophical/spiritual reasons but that's not the priority in my life right now. What is your opinion on learning more than one language at the same time. I know it's generally not recommended, but still curious about your take specifically.
The thing is, more you learn more you realize that it is freaking unpredictable and unmeasurable. I was studying english for 7 years, i am not that smart to be honest, rather, i learned through constant motivation and hard work. Then i realized in university where every professor was native english speaker that no matter how much and hard i tried it always was not enough. Although my english level according to my tutors is upper intermediate, i still cannot understand a lot of things in English culture and literature and i am still learning it. Life becomes painful, i'd say, you cannot directly and honestly say to yourself "yes i am sure that i am on right way, yes i have pretty decent skills in English", rather in your mind constant doubts and battles. Getting knowledge requires always somesort of sacrifices, and i think burnouts and painful doubts are consequences of this deal, because doing sacrifice is very hard, you are giving your time, other alternatives of enjoying life and self-realization in exchange to vague possiblity of being little bit more uniquer than others. Key point is VAGUE, not 100% guarantee. And in the end you can only blame yourself for this, if you are failed, nobody is responsible, nobody and noone could refill your losses. That is why it is very hard to "remedy" burnouts and other not-so-funny things, because you are falling to uncertainty and then it is too hard to come out of it, because you start to understand that a lot of people never have fallen into it, but on the way of doing it. And only thing they can do is giving useless advices, which are too general and superficial.
🤩fascinating