What would you like to throw away?

Yes! It is a new year 2016…  A good time for new plans and… it is also a great time to think about the following question: what  would you like to get rid of this year?

One of the first things that Dutch people get rid of is empty champagne bottles of course and then also the christmas tree. But then… the cleaning has just started… what else would you like to get rid of? If you are like some Dutch people this word might pop up: schoonmoeder, which is mother in law…

All right, just kidding here… at the same time, what is something that you would like to get rid of, seriously? Feel free to think about more abstract things as well…

Maybe there are certain things about your job that do not longer inspire you. Maybe there is something in your routine that you like to break. There most be something in your life that bothers you, at least a litle bit…

Here is another thing, but maybe for some while you avoided this subject somehow… Imagine that you have been living in the Netherlands for some  while and that all the time you have been speaking English. That is great, don’t you think? There is nothing that you have to do and all the cloggies (Dutch people) have to do the work if they want to communicate with you. One thing is certain, if you speak English, then you speak the language of the whole world… No reason to adapt…..

But… when you think about it, there might be some moments that you would enjoy life a little bit more if you could speak Dutch now and then… How much fun is it to always ask for help if a letter in Dutch arrives? Do you really feel included if everyone speaks Dutch in the room, except you?

The next step is simple… how would it feel if you could be more independent? If you could join the conversation any time with any  person?

If the answer  is yes, then think again… Here is another important thing… just imagine how it would feel if somehow everything that surrounds you made more sense. The only question that you have the answer is whether you would like it or not… That is it…

Here is the tricky thing… before you know it, negative thoughts may come up. You might believe that somehow it is going to be very difficult or that you do not have the talent to speak a new language and bla bla bla…

This is very important… it essential that you are honest now. When you think about speaking Dutch, it is completely normal that doubts or negative thoughts come up. All you have to do is to acknowledge them… Just admitting that you have them now and then is already a big step forwards!

Here is the great idea: use Dutch for removing all the things that you don’t like!

Then, as you might be able to imagine, negative thoughts and doubts are not really handy if you want to learn fast. But… here is the magic trick… you can use a new language to take  this negative things  away! All you have to do is to make sure that you have some positive experiences with learning and that somehow you achieve some first results. Then, everything gets easier…

As you move forward, you’ll notice that most of the negative thoughts were not relevant or real in the first place. Sure, you may meet some challenges sometimes, but… you’ll also notice that you have to abilities to learn new things and to expand. When this happens, it is easy to feel good.

You may have noticed it already in other areas of your life… sometimes if you have to learn something new it may feel daunting or a bit intimidating at first. But then, once you do it and certainly when you have fun, negative thoughts simply melt away.

This sentence will do the trick!

So if you feel that you could use some inspiration or motivation for really speaking Dutch this year then simply imagine all those negative things that you could get rid of. Such as: feeling bored at parties, missing important information… make a whole list and write down as many things that you can think of!

Simply complete the following sentence: If I spoke Dutch then I would not have ……………………………………. anymore….

If you like, use the comments field below!