hello English Learners and welcome to the Daily English podcast I'm Paul your host for today it's great to have you here happy to be here so today uh we're going to talk about becoming the best version of yourself you know growing as a person learning new things and feeling good about who you are and of course we'll be focusing on some helpful English vocabulary along the way that's a great goal to focus on and you know when we talk about the best version of yourself it doesn't mean being Perfect Right nobody's perfect and that's okay
it's all about making progress and improving ourselves bit by bit exactly and to improve means to make something better let's say you're learning English every time you practice you're improving your skills okay so we're all about getting better right but where do we even start I mean this idea of becoming the best version can sound a little overwhelming it's actually simpler than it sounds one of the materials you shared really emphasizes the importance of setting goals goals like targets we want to hit exactly a goal is something you want to achieve for example maybe your
goal is to be able to read a simple English book or to watch an English movie and understand most of it those are great examples and the material you mentioned it actually says that writing down your goals can help make them more real absolutely when you write something down you're making a commitment to yourself that makes a lot of sense so for our listeners out there I want you to think about one specific goal you have for improving proving your English what's something you really want to be able to do maybe it's having a conversation
with a native speaker or writing an email in English whatever it is write it down and don't worry if it seems big or difficult right now we're going to talk about how to break it down into smaller steps okay I like that small steps so let's say we have our goals written down what's next well something that came up a lot in the materials you provided is the idea of building good habits habits like brushing my teeth every day exactly habits are things we do automatically without really having to think about them okay so how
do habits help us improve well let's think about your English learning goal maybe you want to be able to speak for five minutes without stopping that's a good one now you're not going to reach that goal overnight right but if you make it a habit to speak English for just a few minutes every day even if it's just to yourself you'll start to see Improvement so it's like those small steps we were talking about yes and the materials you gave me had some really good examples of habits for English Learners one one of them was
using subtitles when watching movies subtitles are those words that appear at the bottom of the screen while you're watching something right that's right they can be really helpful for understanding the dialogue and over time they can actually help you learn new words and improve your listening skills wow I never thought about it that way so by making it a habit to watch movies with subtitles we can actually be learning while we're relaxing exactly and that's what's great about habits they can make learning feel effortless this is all starting to come together we have our goals
we're building good habits but there's something else that's really important for becoming the best version of ourselves you're thinking about taking care of our health aren't you that's exactly what I was thinking I mean it's hard to learn and grow if we don't feel good right absolutely one of the things that really stood out to me in your materials was the emphasis on how our physical health affects everything else when we take care of our bodies we have more energy we're more focused and we just feel better over overall and that can definitely make it
easier to learn a new language for sure and the material specifically mentioned the importance of including fruits vegetables and protein in our diets those things give us the energy we need to stay active and learn new things and we can't forget about sleeve it's hard to focus on anything when you're tired you're absolutely right the material even suggested trying fun activities to get more exercise like dancing or playing a sport I love that idea me too it's all about finding things we enjoy and making them part of our routine exactly it shouldn't feel like a
chore Okay so we've talked about improving our English building healthy habits but there's another piece of this puzzle right something about learning new things in general your spot on the material you provided emphasizes the idea of lifelong learning it's all about keeping our minds active and engage even after we finish school so it's not just about learning English it could be anything right absolutely it could be learning to play a musical instrument or taking up a new hobby like gardening I guess learning English is a form of lifelong learning too right of course learning a
new language is one of the best ways to keep your mind sharp and it opens up a whole new world of possibilities that's so true it allows you to connect with people from different cultures and experience things you might never have been able to otherwise exactly and remember the material stresses that practice is key when learning anything new so even if we only have a little time each day if we use it wisely and practice consistently we can make progress toward our goals that's the key takeaway here consistency is what really matters okay I'm feeling
inspired we've covered so much already setting goals building habits taking care of our health and embracing lifelong learning but there's got to be more to this best version idea right you're right on track there are definitely a few more elements we need to explore and I think a good place to start is by talking about the power of positive thinking positive thinking you mean like looking on the bright side that's part of it but it's also about how our thoughts influence our feelings and actions so if we think positive thoughts we'll feel better and do
better exactly one of the Articles you shared actually talks about how positive thinking can help us overcome challenges and Achieve our goals okay that makes sense but how do we actually become more positive especially when we're facing difficulties well there are a lot of different techniques one simp one is to be more aware of your thoughts when you notice yourself thinking something negative try to challenge that thought like if I'm thinking I'll never be able to speak English fluently I should stop and question that thought exactly ask yourself is that really true is there any
evidence to support that thought I see what you mean and maybe I could replace that negative thought with a more positive one like I'm making progress every day and I'm getting closer to my goal that's a great example and remember mistakes are part of the learning process don't get discouraged by them that actually reminds me of something from the material it said that if you're feeling nervous about a test you could try thinking I studied hard and I'll do my best that's a perfect example of positive selft talk it's about focusing on what you can
control and believing in your ability to succeed okay so positive thinking can really make a difference in how we approach challenges but it's not just about our own thoughts right the people we surround ourselves with also matter you're absolutely right the material you provided specifically talks about the importance of spending time with people who Inspire us to inspire means to make someone want to do something or to feel good right exactly think about the people in your life who encourage you who believe in you who make you want to be your best self those are
the people you want to keep close absolutely and you know you can find inspiration in many places it could be a friend who excels at something you're interested in a teacher who motivates you or even a character in a book or movie that's a good point inspiration can come from anywhere and don't be afraid to ask for advice or guidance from people who inspire you they might have some valuable insights to share it's all about building a positive and supportive Network around yourself that's exactly right so we've talked about the importance of having inspiring people
in our lives but it's also crucial to be kind to ourselves right absolutely we can be our own worst critics sometimes the material emphasizes being patient with ourselves especially when we're learning something something new or facing challenges to be patient means to stay calm and not get upset when things take time right exactly and learning new things especially a new language takes time and effort so it's important to acknowledge our progress celebrate our small victories and remember that it's okay to make mistakes along the way that's a really important Point sometimes we focus so much
on our mistakes that we forget to celebrate our successes there's a really helpful example in the material about this and says that if you are learning a new skill and it feels difficult remind yourself I am doing my best I will get better with time that's such a powerful reminder we need to be encouraging and supportive of ourselves just as we would be with a friend who's learning something new WoW we've covered so much ground today from setting goals and building good habits to taking care of our health surrounding ourselves with inspiring people and being
kind to ourselves it's all connected to becoming the best versions of ourselves and it's important to remember that this is a continuous Journey not a estivation there will always be new things to learn new challenges to overcome and new ways to grow that's what makes it so exciting right we're constantly evolving and discovering new aspects of ourselves absolutely and I think that's something worth celebrating I agree and speaking of celebrating that brings us to another important Point you're right we can't forget about the importance of acknowledging and celebrating our successes no matter how big or
small they might seem it makes sense right celebrating our achievements helps us stay motivated and gives us a sense of accomplishment exactly and it reinforces those positive feelings associated with reaching our goals so what are some ways our listeners can celebrate their progress in learning English well it could be something as simple as allowing yourself to watch your favorite English movie as a reward for hitting a study Milestone or maybe trying a new recipe from an English cookbook that's a great idea it's all about finding ways to make the learning process enjoyable and rewarding and
let's talk about a practical aspect of self-improvement that's often overlooked time management ah yes time management is essential for making progress towards our goals it's about using our time wisely and efficiently one of the materials you share defines the word manage as to control or organize something so in this context managing our time means having a plan for our day and prioritizing our tasks and it doesn't have to be complicated even simple things like making a daily to-do list can help us stay focused and on track the material also suggests using a timer to help
us stay focused for example you could work on a task for 25 minutes then take a 5 minute break this technique can be really helpful for preventing distractions and maintaining productivity that's a great tip I think we can all benefit from incorporating more structure into our days absolutely and remember effective time management isn't just about getting more done it's also about freeing up time for the things that are important to us like spending time with loved ones pursuing our Hobbies or simply relaxing and recharging that's a really important point it's about finding that balance between
work and play between striving for improvement and taking care of our overall well-being and that brings us back to one of the key themes we've been discussing today being kind to ourselves it's okay to take breaks it's okay to have days where we don't feel super productive and it's okay to simply enjoy the journey even if it's not always a straight path to our goals I love that it's about embracing the imperfections and celebrating the small winds along the way and remembering that becoming the best version of ourselves is a lifelong Endeavor not a race
to the Finish Line I think that's a wonderful message for our listeners to take away from this episode you're absolutely right it's about the journey not just the destination so as we wrap up this episode I want to take a moment to recap some of the key things we've talked about today we started by discussing the importance of setting goals for ourselves and remember those goals could be related to improving your English or learning a new skill or taking better care of your health really anything that's important to you the key is to make those
goals specific and achievable we also talked about the power of building good habits like practicing English regularly or incorporating healthy activities into your routine or even just making time for things you enjoy and we can't forget about the importance of staying positive being kind to yourself and celebrating your successes along the way all of these things can contribute to personal growth and help us become more confident and fulfilled individuals and remember it's okay to make mistakes in fact mistakes are a valuable part of the learning process absolutely it's how we learn and grow so don't
be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone try new things and embrace the challenges that come your way we also talked about the importance of surrounding yourself with positive and inspiring people those who encourage you believe in you and motivate you to be your best self and remember inspiration can come from anywhere it could be a friend a teacher a mentor or even a character in a book or movie keep your eyes open for those sources of inspiration and don't be afraid to reach out to people who inspire you so to all of our
listeners out there I encourage you to take what you've learned today and start applying it to your own lives remember even small changes can make a big difference over time that's right it's all about taking those small steps day by day and believing in your ability to make positive changes and most importantly be patient with yourselves enjoy the journey and never stop learning and growing you got it becoming the best version of yourself is an ongoing process something you can work on every single day thank you all so much for joining us today on The
Daily English podcast we hope you found this episode helpful and inspiring it's been a pleasure being here and don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more helpful English learning tips and inspiring conversations we release new episodes every week so be sure to check back soon and if you enjoyed this episode please share it with your friends who are also learning English we believe that everyone has the potential to achieve their language learning goals and we're here to support you every step of the way until next time keep practicing your English keep believing in yourselves
and keep striving to become the best versions of yourselves
