Episode 34: If I Believed in Myself

Love, Joy, and Languages

In today's episode, I explore all the details of what my life could look like if I had more self-belief, especially as a language learner. This content is prompted by Emily Richardson of The Language Confidence Project, a daily podcast that gives language learners a boost of courage, no matter our life situations. In Episode 35 of her show, Emily talks about self-belief, and she points out that self-belief is often discussed from the point of view of someone who has already overcome their challenge, completed their quest, and proven to themselves that they can do it. However, we rarely (or perhaps never) talk about self-belief as we're in the process of working through these challenges or quests. It's easy to say we believe in ourselves from the other side, where we've already reached our goals and worked through the messy middle. But what does self-belief look like in the middle part?

Using the very pointed and thought-provoking questions Emily asks in Episode 35 of The Language Confidence Project, I talk today about what that could look like for me. I'm definitely in the messy middle of my language journey. I'm actually in the messy middle of many aspects of my life -- parenting, healing from perfectionism, the beginning of a second career, living abroad and deciding where to go from here. So when I hear the term "self-belief," what do I think of? Do I feel like I have it? What does having self-belief look like for me? If I had more self-belief, how would I respond when I make mistakes, receive criticism, or face something completely new to me? What feelings might come up when facing something very difficult, if I had self-belief? And most importantly, how can I bring more self-belief into my life?

I share a lot of very personal thoughts in today's episode because taking time to envision a world where self-belief exists for me was very revealing and healing. Taking the time to write out my responses to the questions Emily poses in her episode allowed me to really think about how I respond to and feel about very specific aspects of my language journey and beyond. It gave me space to consider alternative ways of thinking that don't include beating myself up or living in a mental space of constant doubt and negativity. I encourage you to go back and listen to Episode 35 of The Language Confidence Project BEFORE listening my episode today because I don't want my responses to influence yours. Self-belief looks different for everyone, and I truly believe in the value of defining that for yourself and painting a picture of possibilities for moving forward with a bit more self-belief in your own life.