Arina's Self Help Blog
Subscribe

Goal Setting

How to Learn a Foreign Language in Less Than a Year

learn a foreign language 300x199 How to Learn a Foreign Language in Less Than a YearWho of us has not wanted to learn a foreign language? I bet there is still a grammar book or a language course hidden somewhere on your book shelf that reminds you of the day when you decided to learn French or Italian or even Japanese. Well, this long-forgotten dream of yours can finally turn into reality, because let’s face it – while you can get away with speaking just your mother tongue while traveling, knowing a foreign language opens a myriad of opportunities:

• It can speed up your professional growth and gives you the possibility of finding a better job
• It helps you to understand another culture much better and to read books written by famous authors “in their original language”
• It makes it much easier to make friends in different countries and much more fun to travel around the world.
• It trains your memory and helps to keep your mind sharp

Besides, there is something almost magical about gazing at the stars and humming a French song to your beloved , ordering a cup of delicious espresso in Piazza San Marco in perfect Italian, laughing at a joke in Spanish without having to ask your friends what it means or greeting your international business partners in Russian or Chinese.

You might believe that learning a foreign language is difficult, boring or frustrating, that you do not have a talent for languages that the last time you tried to learn French or Spanish you hardly made any progress. All these doubts are normal, but they are groundless. While everyone’s learning style and language acquisition speed can be different, scientists are convinced that just about anyone can master a new language and your age or talents have nothing to do with it.

And the best part is that the more languages you know, the easier it is to learn the new ones!

(more…)

Anthony Robbins’ Recipe for Instant Life Change

instant life change 300x207 Anthony Robbins’ Recipe for Instant Life ChangeWhile most of us believe that change takes time, world-renown motivational speaker Anthony Robbins does not agree with this. He is convinced that it is preparation to change that takes time. Change itself occurs in an instant.

This makes sense if you look at change not as a life-changing transformation, but as a number of tiny actions that bring us immediate results.

Of course, it takes weeks to get ready for a marathon, months to learn a new language and years to build strong happy relationships. I will be the first to tell you that there is no way of naturally losing 35 pounds in a day or writing a book overnight.

But!

Every lost ounce, every written word, every single compromise that you make (even when you do not feel like it), is already a small victory, a little step towards a much bigger and more noticeable change.

According to Anthony Robbins there are Three Main Beliefs that are crucial for any long-lasting transformation to take place:

1. Something must change.

When everything seems to be going fine in our lives we tend to relax and get lazy. It is only when our ‘comfort zone’ gets too uncomfortable that we become determined to change something about our current situation and readily take proactive steps to do this.

(more…)

Six Types of Goal-Setters – Which one are You?

goal setting type 266x300 Six Types of Goal Setters – Which one are You?For over ten years of my life I have helped people achieve their goals. Sometimes I have a feeling that I have read every possible book on goal setting and motivation, tried most goal setting techniques on myself, seen some people perform miracles of determination and creativity and heard others make every possible excuse there is about why they can not pursue their goals.

And while every person is unique and different, there are some traits of character and similarities that many of us share when it comes to setting and achieving our goals.

I have identified Six Main Types of Goal-setters. After you finish reading about them, take time to say in the comment section, which one you are!

1. Judgment Callers

Judgment callers are people who choose not to set goals, either because they do not know what they want or they are ok with the way things are. They prefer to use judgment calls instead, which usually means that they pick the most urgent task on their to-do list and go with that.

People like this live in constant stress and struggle: reality hits – they react, problem arises – they solve it, boss demands – they perform. And it is not that they lack intelligence, determination or ability.

(more…)