Pratique du Shadowing: Epictetus' Secret to Breaking Bad Habits - Apprendre l'anglais à l'oral avec la vidéo

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100 phrases
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We live in an age of instant gratification.
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Easy pleasures are all around us, and they constantly beg for our attention.
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We can indulge in social media, online shopping, streaming, gambling, and mature content without even leaving the couch.
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Various substances and junk food are widely available, at least in the West.
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And so, many of us develop bad habits.
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Some are rather innocent others can seriously undermine our well -being.
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And many struggle to get rid of these bad habits, and may try for years only to relapse over and over again.
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The Stoics understood this problem well.
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They saw excessive desire as a passion, an irrational disturbance that, if we follow it, could get us into trouble.
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Epictetus spoke extensively about how to deal with passions including the temptations that so often lead us astray.
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In particular, he offered a piece of advice that many of us overlook when trying to break a bad habit.
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This video explores a simple way to break bad habits, based on the wisdom of Epictetus.
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His advice has helped me personally, especially in overcoming past habitual binge drinking and other unhealthy pleasures.
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The passion the Stoics called epithumia is a desire or longing for some anticipated pleasure.
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Something we hope to experience in the future.
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It's the urge that sends us to the fridge for an unhealthy snack, or to the browser for a visit to the hub.
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The more we give in to this urge, the stronger it tends to return later, as the habit becomes increasingly ingrained,
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which is a mechanism that is well supported by modern psychology.
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Hence, we build habits by repetition, which also applies to bad habits.
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So, the key to breaking a habit is not to give in to it, refraining over and over again,
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which weakens it every time we succeed.
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The problem, however, is that it's easier said than done.
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When we experience a strong desire, resisting it can be difficult.
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It clouds our judgment and disturbs our rational thinking.
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We forget about tomorrow and the long -term consequences of our actions because we want the promised pleasure so badly.
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The regret, the guilt, and how we'll feel afterward are pushed aside.
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All we seem to have eyes for is that promised pleasure, what the Stoics called hedone.
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But once we have given in to desire and experienced hedone, which is often much shorter and less satisfying than we imagined,
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we remember why we have told ourselves so many times not to do it.
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We're now dealing with the consequences, and we're taking an oath to abstain.
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But later, Here, we find ourselves repeating the action, as the temptation seems too strong to resist.
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It's frustrating, it's disheartening, and we may feel it's a hopeless case.
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But luckily, Epictetus has some advice for us.
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If you are struck by the appearance of any promised pleasure, guard yourself against against being hurried away by it,
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but let the affair wait your leisure and procure yourself some delay," said Epictetus.
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Here we see a good example of what we might call stoic mindfulness.
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Similar to Buddhist mindfulness, it requires us to pay close attention to what is happening within us.
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In this case, it's the appearance of a promised pleasure and our reaction to it.
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Instead of acting upon it or suppressing it, Epictetus asks us to pause for a moment.
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Rather than letting ourselves be carried away by the desire for that pleasure, we take a step back and watch it.
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This can be difficult, of course, especially when the desire is strong.
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When the monster is still small and weak, it's much easier to defeat it, so to speak.
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Once a desire gathers momentum, resisting it becomes much harder.
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In my experience, it's important to notice the desire as soon as it arises, and it often creeps in very subtly.
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And that's why mindfulness is so valuable.
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It helps us become aware of these impulses before they take control.
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So that's the first step.
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Now Epictetus wants us to look into the future.
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More specifically, he wants us to imagine two possible outcomes, one based on pain and regret, the other.. on joy and self -respect.
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Let's begin with the first.
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Then bring to your mind both points of time, that in which you will enjoy the pleasure and that in
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which you will repent and reproach yourself after you have enjoyed it.
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End quote.
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Now, this part of the advice is pretty straightforward, and I'm sure you have tried it before.
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We remind ourselves that even though we'll experience the pleasure, we'll also have to face the consequences afterward.
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In other words, we look beyond the goody and consider the pain that may follow if we take it.
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For many, that's enough.
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When I think of the horrible hangovers I get after binge drinking, the depressive moods that could linger for days,
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it's usually enough now to keep me from the booze when I'm tempted.
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But it wasn't always that way, and it still isn't sometimes, to be honest.
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In many cases, this approach just isn't enough.
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Desire has a way of distorting our judgement.
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We begin to bargain.
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We tell ourselves that the consequences won't be so bad and that pleasure is totally worth the price.
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And perhaps sometimes it is.
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But often, we're simply being misled by the power of passion.
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Now, as I mentioned before, Epictetus also wants us to visualize a positive outcome, saying, and set before you,
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in opposition to these, how you will be glad and applaud yourself if you abstain.
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Let's see what he's getting at with this.
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Imagine we're still in waiting mode.
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We're still on pause, observing the habit we're trying to break, feeling our desire for a specific pleasure.
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Let's suppose fear didn't work.
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What about positive reinforcement?
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What if we traded an immediate, short -lived pleasure for a more durable and constructive one?
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In today's world, pleasure usually means adding something.
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An experience, a purchase, a meal, a drink, another episode, another scroll through TikTok.
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We celebrate consumption, but we rarely consider the pleasure of not consuming, the pleasure of missing out.
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One of these pleasures, Epictetus makes clear, is the satisfaction that comes from not giving in.
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Whether the pleasure is a night of binge drinking, a session of overeating junk food, or spending the night on the hub,
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or perhaps the hamster, we can give ourselves a round of applause for having resisted it.
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Now, if that sounds a bit lame or unsatisfactory, here's what Epictetus said next.
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And even though it should appear to you a seasonable gratification,
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take heed that its enticing and agreeable and attractive force may not subdue you.
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But set an opposition to this, how much better it is to be conscious of having gained so great a victory.
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End quote.
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By not giving in, we gained a victory.
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We overcame, and we allow ourselves to feel great about it.
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This may seem like a small thing, but it's a gift that keeps on giving.
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We can return to this joy at any time of day.
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We can keep reminding ourselves of how we have overcome temptation and feel satisfied every time.
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Moreover, we have become stronger, while the habit has become weaker.
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So, it's a victory with serious consequences.
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And the more often we attain this pleasure, the more powerful we become.
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Over time, we build a greater sense of accomplishment, self -respect, and confidence.
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We begin to feel better about ourselves.
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We look in the mirror and like what we see.
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I mean, if that isn't a pleasure worth pursuing, what is?
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The challenge, however, is seeing through the illusion of the promised pleasure and trusting the process.
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We must remind ourselves that the satisfaction of victory indeed arrives after the desire has passed,
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and that it's far more enjoyable and rewarding than what we're missing out on.

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Vocabulaire et conseils d’expression pour cette leçon

Cette leçon d’expression orale s’appuie sur la vidéo « Epictetus' Secret to Breaking Bad Habits ». Les mots qui reviennent le plus souvent : pleasure, desire, habit, ourselves, Epictetus. Cette vidéo contient 24 phrases et 1337 mots à répéter en shadowing. La partie parlée dure 9:50. Le locuteur parle à un rythme régulier d’environ 136 mots par minute, confortable pour le shadowing. 82 % des mots font partie des 3 000 mots les plus courants en anglais ; le reste mérite d’être vu avant de commencer.

Vocabulaire clé de cette vidéo

15 mots de la vidéo à retenir, avec leur prononciation et leur sens :

MotPrononciationSens
habit nom/ˈhæb.ɪt/habitude
consequence nom/ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns/conséquence
passion nom/ˈpæʃən/passion
resist verbe/ɹɪˈzɪst/résister
remind verbe/ɹəˈmaɪnd/rappeler à
overcome verbe/ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/vaincre, surmonter
temptation nom/ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/tentation
afterwards adverbe/ˈæf.tɚ.wɚdz/après, ultérieurement
regret verbe/ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/regretter
judgment nom/ˈd͡ʒʌd͡ʒ.mənt/jugement
satisfaction nom/sætɪsˈfækʃən/satisfaction
urge verbe/ɜːd͡ʒ/pousser, inciter
pause nom/pɔːz/pause
satisfy verbe/ˈsætɪsfaɪ/satisfaire
unhealthy adjectif/ʌnˈhɛl.θi/malsain, mauvais pour la santé

Les verbes à particule que vous entendrez

MotSens
carried away adjectifemballé
miss out verbemanquer, perdre
see through verbevoir à travers

Des phrases à répéter

Des phrases courtes et complètes de la vidéo, à réutiliser dans la conversation de tous les jours :

  • We’re now dealing with the consequences.
  • Imagine we’re still in waiting mode.
  • I mean… if that  isn’t a pleasure worth pursuing, what is?

La grammaire de cette vidéo

Les structures que le locuteur utilise le plus, avec les mots exacts de la vidéo :

StructureDans la vidéo
Present perfect have/has + participe passé — une action passée qui compte encore maintenanthas helped · have given · have told
Voix passive be + participe passé — l’accent est mis sur ce qui arrive, pas sur qui le faitare pushed · are struck · be carried

Prononciation à surveiller

Le locuteur utilise 22 contractions et formes réduites, comme we're, isn't, we'll. Prononcez-les sous leur forme courte, telles que vous les entendez.

  • Les sons « th »: unhealthy /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/, gather /ˈɡæðɚ/, oath /ˈoʊθ/
  • Les sons « sh » et « zh »: passion /ˈpæʃən/, temptation /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/, satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, consumption /kənˈsʌmp.ʃən/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
  • Mots longs — placez bien l’accent: satisfaction /sætɪsˈfækʃən/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, mechanism /ˈmɛk.ə.nɪ.zəm/, momentum /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/, extensively /ɪkˈstɛn.sɪv.li/

Les sons difficiles pour les francophones :

  • /h/ — il se souffle, il n’est pas muet: habit /ˈhæb.ɪt/, unhealthy /ʌnˈhɛl.θi/, horrible /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/, hurry /ˈhʌ.ɹi/, hopeless /ˈhoʊplɪs/
  • /tʃ/ et /dʒ/ — à ne pas adoucir en « ch » et « j »: binge /bɪnd͡ʒ/, judgment /ˈd͡ʒʌd͡ʒ.mənt/, urge /ɜːd͡ʒ/, junk /d͡ʒʌŋk/, psychology /saɪˈkɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
  • /r/ anglais — langue recourbée, sans frotter la gorge: resist /ɹɪˈzɪst/, remind /ɹəˈmaɪnd/, regret /ɹɪˈɡɹɛt/, mirror /ˈmiɹɚ/, horrible /ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/

Comment s’entraîner avec cette vidéo

  1. Écoutez la vidéo en entier une fois sans parler et notez les mots que vous ne connaissez pas.
  2. Répétez phrase par phrase à vitesse normale, en reprenant chacune jusqu’à ce que votre rythme corresponde à celui du locuteur.
  3. Enregistrez-vous et comparez avec l’original, en faisant attention à des mots comme habit, consequence, passion.

Qu'est-ce que la technique du Shadowing ?

Le Shadowing est une technique d'apprentissage des langues fondée sur la science, développée à l'origine pour la formation des interprètes professionnels. Le principe est simple mais puissant : vous écoutez de l'anglais natif et le répétez immédiatement à voix haute — comme une ombre suivant le locuteur avec un décalage de 1 à 2 secondes. Les recherches montrent une amélioration significative de la précision de la prononciation, de l'intonation, du rythme, des liaisons, de la compréhension orale et de la fluidité.

Technique du shadowing : lire le guide complet étape par étape →