Bilingual news and shares about the brain, languages and coaching

Newsletter 23 - Food

.. description: Discover how nutrition affects brain function and cognitive performance. Learn which foods enhance memory, focus, and neuroplasticity for better language learning.

Newsletter 23 - Food

"The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it."

Eckhart Tolle

When you work with me, I give you and share with you a lot of food…for thought.

In this newsletter, I’m going to share some of the essential questions I ask my coachees during our first session - and then remind them of, regularly, to help keep their motivation up. These questions are designed to provide the ‘mental nourishment’ you need to fuel your language learning journey.

You could actually use this for anything you want to achieve, not just language learning.

ree

Questions to Ponder:

How motivated are you?

Assessing your motivation levels is important for maintaining progress. Reflect on why you want to learn a new language and what really drives you. Understanding your motivation helps sustain your commitment.
What’s your vision?Your vision is the big picture, the ultimate destination you see for yourself. It's the dream you strive toward.I had a client who’s dream was to watch her serieswithout subtitles, chilling in on her coach with a glass of wine.Another client see’s himself at a dinner with his coworkers talking about things other than work,understand jokesin English, being able to follow a group conversation and just feeling relaxed.

What’s your vision?

Your vision is the big picture, the ultimate destination you see for yourself. It's the dream you strive toward.

I had a client who’s dream was to watch her serieswithout subtitles, chilling in on her coach with a glass of wine.
Another client see’s himself at a dinner with his coworkers talking about things other than work,understand jokesin English, being able to follow a group conversation and just feeling relaxed.
What’s your goal?Goals are the specific, actionable steps you plan to take to reach your vision. Think about what you want to achieve in the short and long term. These goals should be clear, measurable, and attainable.A coachee of mine was invited at a wedding 7 months down the line. The wedding was in France, but the families were American. She was seeing herself standing around in the beautiful garden with other guests with a glass of champagne in hand,just chatting awayand not worrying about whether she understood everything or whether she had used the exact word she should have used(spoiler : she did,she had an amazing time, she’s still working with me but has a new goal now!)

What’s your goal?

Goals are the specific, actionable steps you plan to take to reach your vision. Think about what you want to achieve in the short and long term. These goals should be clear, measurable, and attainable.

A coachee of mine was invited at a wedding 7 months down the line. The wedding was in France, but the families were American. She was seeing herself standing around in the beautiful garden with other guests with a glass of champagne in hand,just chatting awayand not worrying about whether she understood everything or whether she had used the exact word she should have used(spoiler : she did,she had an amazing time, she’s still working with me but has a new goal now!)
What’s the difference between a vision and a goal?Some say that a goal is simply a dream with a deadline. Your goal could simply beyour vision…with an end date-mind you, because you’re the one who sets the end date, you can postpone it if you need to.

What’s the difference between a vision and a goal?

Some say that a goal is simply a dream with a deadline. Your goal could simply beyour vision…with an end date-mind you, because you’re the one who sets the end date, you can postpone it if you need to.
What are your immediate short-term goals and actions?Break down your long-term goals into smaller,chewable bites. Identify what you need to do in the near future to keep moving forward. These short-term goals provide a sense of achievement and keep you motivated.

What are your immediate short-term goals and actions?

Break down your long-term goals into smaller,chewable bites. Identify what you need to do in the near future to keep moving forward. These short-term goals provide a sense of achievement and keep you motivated.
What actions are you going to take to reach those goals?Interestingly when I ask this last question, I get to types of answers “I don’t know, you tell me” or “I’m going to watch series, videos, do exercises, read books, talk with my colleagues,spend an hour every daystudying”.You won’t. Because you can’t.It’s not sustainable in the long run, real life takes over.My suggestion when you ask yourself this question - or when I ask you this question - is ‘choose what fits more naturally in your daily routine, choose activities that you would do anyway’ (meaning don’t choose to read if you’re not a reader). The brain learns best when your ‘learning actions’ aregrounded in your every day life.

What actions are you going to take to reach those goals?

Interestingly when I ask this last question, I get to types of answers “I don’t know, you tell me” or “I’m going to watch series, videos, do exercises, read books, talk with my colleagues,spend an hour every daystudying”.You won’t. Because you can’t.It’s not sustainable in the long run, real life takes over.

Interestingly when I ask this last question, I get to types of answers “I don’t know, you tell me” or “I’m going to watch series, videos, do exercises, read books, talk with my colleagues,spend an hour every daystudying”.

You won’t. Because you can’t.It’s not sustainable in the long run, real life takes over.

My suggestion when you ask yourself this question - or when I ask you this question - is ‘choose what fits more naturally in your daily routine, choose activities that you would do anyway’ (meaning don’t choose to read if you’re not a reader). The brain learns best when your ‘learning actions’ aregrounded in your every day life.

Once you have the answers to these questions (maybe put pen to paper and actually write the answers), either you have a strong will power, in which case just start, what are you waiting for?

Or you needregular Check-ins with me (accountability maybe?) and some help figuring out the language (no excuses to procrastinate): together, we periodically revisit these questions to see how your answers evolve. You can then adjust your goals as needed to stay aligned with your vision - which sometimes also evolves.

The ideas andinsightswe explore together are vital to your growth and success.

I enjoyed doing this series of newsletters about Food. I enjoy food so that was easy!

If you want to know more about the neuroscience of habits,you should click here

And if you want to go back on my past newsletters that cover all kinds of brain related, language related, coaching related fascinating subjects, I suggest yougo to my newsletters webpage.

Links & Resources

Newsletter 24 — Links and Ressources about Food

Neurolanguage Coaching® is an amazing method that will help you learn a language more efficiently than you've ever experienced before. It brings together findings about how the brain learns best and integrates these into a coaching process that will put you in charge of YOUR learning journey. As a Coach, I'm the GPS to your driving. If you want to try it but are not ready to commit, I have a page where you can start that might be just what you’re looking for. Or we can just have a casual chat about it, just reply to this email.