How to Overcome the Need to Stay Motivated
Are you struggling to stay motivated while studying languages?
Early on in my language study journey, I shared these exact frustrations with a language buddy of mine. I was stuck between admiring all of the amazing people in our language learning community who seemed to be able to study all the time, and my reality where I missed or skipped days because I just… didn’t want to do the work.
This friend of mine is a BEAST when it comes to discipline! At that time, I relied heavily on their presence (and the others in our group) to keep me motivated and on track. But when I was alone, sitting at my desk, staring at my textbooks, waiting for the “inspiration to study” to hit me, I struggled.
It took me a lot of time, reflection, and planning to realize what was holding me back and to move past this challenge.
What if I told you that motivation isn’t going to help you learn languages? In fact, relying solely on motivation is hindering your long-term progress, and continuing the cycle of starting and stopping your studies.
In this post, I want to share:
- What is motivation and why is it Important
- Why relying on motivation (ONLY) in your language studies is a mistake
- What you need to focus on to drive your studies with intention and clarity
Why Motivation IS Important In your Language Studies
As a language learner, I’m sure you’ve already experienced the ways we search the internet for motivation. You love to see those aesthetic notes and artistically placed books on a desk. I love them too! I love to find new books to buy, new stationery to use, etc.
However, the problem with seeking out motivation as the sole catalyst to study is that it’s just one part of the larger system of building habits.
Motivation is your “strong reason to act or accomplish something”. It’s the Guiding Purpose for your language studies, the craving you want to satisfy, or the force that pushes you to DO the work.
As James Clear explains, “without some level of motivation or desire—without craving a change—we have no reason to act.” And these cravings are linked to our desire to change. It’s our “thoughts, feelings, and emotions” and that has so much power in the actions we take and the ideas we believe about ourselves as language learners.
We want to use this strategically if we truly want to create consistency in our language studies.
Why You Shouldn’t Rely On Motivation to Learn Languages
The problem with relying on motivation to learn languages is this: We aren’t all motivated by the same thing, the same triggers or “cue”.
Focusing just on the motivation is relying on stage 2 of the 4 we need to sit down and study.
Imagine this: You’re trying to get the drive to act to do something without the right cues, and so you do nothing and stay stagnant in your studies. OR, you want to study, you want to DO the work, but you don’t have the right set of cues to trigger the action to just do it, or a strong enough reward or end goal in mind.
Either way, you are stuck constantly trying to make decisions about your studies. By the time you decide which resource to use, where to sit down and study, what to focus on, and for how long, you’re exhausted and tapped out.
For me, this often happened when I wanted to pick up new vocabulary for my target language.
The craving was there, I WANTED to learn more vocabulary because of my desire to break out those challenging books on my shelf and the videos waiting on my Youtube Playlist. But I the other stages were lacking:
The cue to start studying vocab was the Anki app blinking on my phone. However, I didn’t have a strong enough reward because I didn’t see the results I wanted in the past. I started to associate the disappointments I’d experienced before with these action steps.
It wasn’t appealing to me, and I struggled to identify the personal benefits of doing it anyway.
What You Need To Focus On Instead To Learn Languages
To learn languages, you need to focus on forming new habits and building a system that supports those habits. The best way to do this is to make sure you pay close attention to all FOUR parts of building a habit. You can use the steps below to help you.
1. Make the triggers clear.
Figure out which action steps you want to be the obvious option for you. Then, identify the one that you want to ignore because it doesn’t serve you or your Guiding Purpose. For me, this meant making the flashcard app the first thing I saw on my phone and setting alarms for the same time every day.Choose a satisfying reward.
2. Choose a satisfying reward.
Think of something so good, so exciting, that you are motivated to get to that end goal. If the reward isn’t powerful enough, attractive enough, you’re not going to be motivated to do the work in the first place. The reward for me is seeing the daily streak increase every day. Plan for small action steps, not giant leaps.
3. Plan for small action steps, not giant leaps.
You naturally measure every action by how much energy and effort it will take and the reward you receive for completing the action. If it takes too much energy and effort, you’ll be reluctant to do it. And if the reward is not strong enough? You won’t see the point in studying at all.Reflect on your system.
4. Reflect on your system.
See what works and what doesn’t work in action. Pay close attention to what is working well within your new system and what needs to be adjusted.Refine and Repeat.
5. Refine and Repeat.
Adjust what isn’t working in your system. Make your triggers clearer, choose a different reward you anticipate enjoying, or change your action steps. And most importantly, celebrate your successes so you are more likely to continue the journey.
Are you ready to start building your own study habits?
Now you know why motivation shouldn’t be the driver of your language studies AND you have my go-to strategies for building a habit (with motivation in mind) to create consistency in my language studies.
What are some habits you want to build into your own studies? What are some study habits you already have that keep you consistent? Let me know in the comments below!
PS. If you want a step-by-step guide on how to create your own Polyglot Study System, download my FREE guide to jumpstart your studies and help you build consistency!
— The Polyglot Fox