MARTIN LUTHER KING QUOTE

Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome back to the Daily Vitamin. 

Today we look at a quote from the great Martin Luther King Jr., the incredible American civil rights leader from the 1960s.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

This quote promotes the idea that positive change can only come from positive actions and emotions, rather than responding with negativity.

As you know, I always try to relate these quotes to learning a language; and today's quote is relevant. Many students are "struggling" to learn English. They aren't enjoying the process... they aren't doing it in a relaxing way. Most students are very critical of themselves. For example, they go to a conference in English and they can only understand about 60% of what they are listening to. They begin to feel frustrated; they begin to have thoughts such as, "I'm never going to understand English" or "learning English could take decades" or "what is wrong with me? I just can't understand English." They are focusing on the "dark" side of their English...the 40% that they couldn't understand, rather than the 60% that they did understand. 

Having those "dark" thoughts are not going to help you. You cannot improve by focusing on what you CAN'T do. You have to start focusing on what you CAN do. Focus on the 60% that you did understand. You can't get better by criticizing yourself, by beating yourself up, mentally. At some point, you have to shift and truly believe that you can learn English. You have to foment supportive thoughts, such as "I can learn English" or "if I work 20 to 30 minutes each day, I will improve." It takes time, but start questioning those old "dark" thoughts that don't support you, and begin to replace them with more supportive thoughts. 

If you want to improve your English quickly, stop focusing on what's not working and foment thoughts of self-love and support. A change in perspective can completely change your learning experience. If you need some guidance with this, please do not hesitate to contact me by email (mray@ziggurat.es).

I hope your day is full of love and light rather than fear and darkness.  

Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow with the last lesson of the week.

Ziggurat offers languages for companies in just about any city in Spain. For more information, visit this section on our website: https://www.ziggurat.es/idiomas-para-empresas/