Hey All,
This post may come across as some sort of selfish catharsis, but I feel like acknowledging where I came from, and where I’m going, will help keep me motivated - I’m hoping this will help others too. This is somewhat WK related, so bear with me…
It’s fair to say that, for me at least, the last 18 months have been extremely difficult. Whether breakups, family issues or bereavement, there always seemed to be another crisis on the horizon. With everything that was going on, my mental health took an extreme dive, leading to depression, a total lack of self-confidence and zero motivation.
As you can imagine, throughout this period, my Japanese studies suffered immensely, and although I still attended classes, my engagement and self-study slowly evaporated over time. The more time went by, the more it felt like I would never make any actual progress, that I was simply wasting my time. Although I tried to keep WK going through all of this, my review began to pile up (an appropriate metaphor for how life in general felt back then).
Towards the end of this period, I had almost 700 reviews piled up, and it felt utterly hopeless. Every time I opened a text book, or opened WK, it felt like there was an insurmountable wall in front of me. I confided in my Japanese teacher, and told her I was thinking about throwing in the towel, but she wouldn’t let me so easily give up. Instead she told me to take little baby-steps, and that even a little bit of progress was better than none. Shortly after, I started doing 10-20 reviews here and there, and sure enough my mood began to improve. By the end of the following week, I had tackled all 700 reviews and felt as if I could accomplish anything!
I’m now totally back on track, and averaging 10-12 days per level. Below is my level duration graphs from WKStats, look at the big grey chunk! My average level has taken a a serious beating!
My head space has greatly improved, and feel more motivated than ever. This feeling isn’t exclusive to language studies either - I’m putting my full effort and attention into every aspect of my life.I honestly attribute conquering my review pile to how I feel right now, and I honestly cant wait to hit level 60.
I guess the point of all this rambling was to convey the following message to others: no matter how overwhelming or insurmountable an issue can feel, a little bit of progress is better than none. Remember, it only takes a few pebbles to eventually move boulders! If I can overcome the wall, any of you can!
