Shadowing Practice: How to Manage Multiple Interests - Learn English Speaking with Video
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244 משפטים
אם המשפטים קצרים או ארוכים מדי, לחץ על ערוך כדי להתאים אותם.
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I want to do everything.
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The idea of being pushed into this box and deprived of the room to branch out and try different things, that's horrible to me.
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And chances are this gets even worse when you enter a career because of this hyper-specialized economy we've built.
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That's not how humans work.
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We're on this earth for more than being just a cog in a machine, doing this one specific task and becoming good at one specific thing.
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And if you share that feeling, that's amazing.
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Because that's the sign of someone curious, someone who's a lifelong learner, and someone who's always wanting to try new things and explore everything the world has to offer.
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So this feeling is good, but if you don't manage it correctly, you could be digging a hole beneath yourself, one that's going to sabotage you later on.
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In your chase to do everything, you end up moving nowhere because your focus is so diluted across many different activities.
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You've heard the phrase jack of all trades, master of none.
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And I kind of hate that saying for two reasons.
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First, because it's wrong in practice.
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And second of all, you don't have to be considered a master to be good at something.
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But to give it some credit, we still have to balance our focus and at least make some progress somewhere.
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Because if you jump from hobby to hobby, from business to business, you'll never make any solid movement forward in any direction.
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This is shiny object syndrome digging a trap for you and you falling into it.
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And if you expect me to say you have to abandon this and become specialized, then you'd be wrong.
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Because there is a way to compromise.
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There is a way to do both things.
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The magic is in the balance.
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And I know this because I've been through the struggle.
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The desire to do everything only to be stretched so thin that nothing gets done.
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I've tried and failed at a bunch of different hobbies, pursuits, business plans, you name it.
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For example, before I started this channel, I jumped from logo design to brand identity and then finally to thumbnail design.
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And I had nothing to show for it along the way except the learning.
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I never succeeded in the traditional sense.
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I love the idea of the renaissance man, the character who is
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good at many different skills and reliable but at the same time it's not an excuse to suck at all of them.
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It's good to fail and learn from mistakes but not forever.
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At some point we have to see some action.
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Today I'm happy to say that I found that balance.
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I found a way to consistently improve in many different areas
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but also not in the sense that it's unrealistic and leaves me feeling disappointed.
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I like to read, I like to write, I like to lift, to play the violin and of course to make videos that help you.
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I'm so grateful for having that balance because it was hard fought.
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It took a long time to settle down and find the things that mattered to me.
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But even today, despite all of that, I get this inner voice saying, when are you going to start this?
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When are you going to start that?
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When are you going to branch out?
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When are you going to do this and that and this and that?
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And it's a nightmare.
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So here I want to share everything I've learned along the way about managing the desire to do everything and staying focused.
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Every strategy and every principle that helps me become a generalist, but at the same time keeps me focused enough to see consistent results in each area.
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First, we have to face an uncomfortable truth that doing everything is impossible.
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We all have the same 24 hours and we will have a bunch of essential duties we have to complete every day.
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So how do you budget your time with intention?
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How do you avoid overfilling your plate and then getting frustrated that you can't eat it all?
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I did this by making a hierarchy of all my interests.
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With just a 10 minute exercise, you can really narrow down your scope and create a realistic plan for improvement.
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So just over a year ago, I came to the harsh conclusion that I had to smarten up.
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I couldn't do everything and it was time to create a plan.
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A plan of what to do.
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On a piece of paper I wrote down all of my interests.
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Things like skills to learn, hobbies, business ideas, everything.
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So I sat down in the silence of my bedroom to have a think.
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What on this list is most important to me?
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I chose my answers and I ranked them based on how precious they were.
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So the things at the top would be the activities that I couldn't live without.
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And as you go down the list they suddenly become less and less important.
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Since my most meaningful pursuit settled at the top of the list, It gave me this vision, this clarity on where I should be spending my time.
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Because before I was overwhelmed, I had all these ideas in my head of what to do, but once I had them laid out here, I could see things with a bird's eye view.
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And it made much more sense on picking what I should prioritize and what maybe is more of a distraction.
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In fact, you could even do this right now, where you sit.
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Get out a piece of paper and just jot down some of the interests that matter to you.
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this takes just a few minutes
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and it will set you up for the next step
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which is how you create your personalized strategy for dealing with them the next step is the time management itself
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and i can't help but cringe a little
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when i hear the words time management
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because i always associate it to the the finance hustle bros
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and the self-help gurus but regardless of
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that link i can't deny the value of it time management works
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and i can vouch for it
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because last year i started planning every single day of my week on google calendar
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and i must say it's one of the best changes i've made in my life for actually getting more done.
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Of course at first I had my doubts.
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To me this seemed picky and obsessive.
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Like I was micromanaging every minute of time and not allowing myself to enjoy life.
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But after trying it myself I realized I was wrong.
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I had the wrong picture.
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Because it's not an excuse to constantly work 24-7 nor is it an excuse to neglect your family and your friends.
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It's just a way to value your time and to use it with more intention.
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Time is the raw resource that you need to reach all of your goals, whether they're in fitness, in your social life, in your business, in everything.
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So if you can effectively manage your time and align it with your ideals, then the success will follow on from there.
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Now let's pull the idea back to your interests.
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I took this list of interests that I made earlier
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and I went on Google Calendar and I used this list to plan out my ideal week, one that would give me the foundations for getting where I want to be.
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And because you ranked everything in order of importance, you can really allocate the time correctly and give more time to what matters the most.
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For example, making quality videos is my priority at the moment, even above college work, which is probably not something I should be saying, but I don't care.
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It's a priority.
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So I'm willing to spend way more time on that than even college work.
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My schedule is full of editing.
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It's full of script writing and coming up with new ideas.
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My second most precious goal is to become a better writer.
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So naturally, I dedicate lots of time to it.
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Sure, I'd love to have more time to practice illustration maybe or do something with my hands.
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but the point is I simply don't have the time to give
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that because for every hour I spend chasing some side hobby
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or interest I lose one hour for something more meaningful to me.
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This is a zero sum game and you have to be willing to make sacrifices
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but now for the good news you can still be well-rounded
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you can still make time for the less important things
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that bring you joy and bring you diversity
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because once you have your calendar with a bird's eye view
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on the most important things you can find those little pockets of time for other activities.
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For example I've been playing the violin since the end of 2019
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and even though it's been so many years I'm still not that good at it.
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I'm kind of bad and I know why.
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It's because I practice for maybe half an hour, maybe four times a week.
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Is that enough to get proficient?
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No. I know that
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if I wanted to get better I'd probably have to double my time spent practicing and maybe get a teacher too.
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But right now I'm not going to do either of those things and it might sound counterintuitive but it makes sense.
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It's all in line with my strategy.
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To me violin is a side hobby and I value my main ones over it.
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I mean sometimes I'll even quit the violin session early just
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because I want to finish a script or do some more writing.
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But despite all that there are pockets during my week
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that I can drop everything and just play some music
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and for that small investment of time I still get the chance to improve my skills
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and also enter this whole different world of creativity.
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To me that is a powerful balance.
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That is truly the best of both worlds.
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The next tip is something I wish someone would have told me earlier.
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It would have saved so much mental burden
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and just freed me of the feeling that I have to do everything right now.
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If you want the sustainable path of becoming well-rounded then I hate to say it, but you may have to scrap some of your interests just for now, just temporarily.
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I'm quite young, sure I might get hit by a car tomorrow, but chances are I have several decades left to live, and through the mystical power of YouTube analytics,
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it's probably the same for you.
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So then why are we stressing?
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Why are we trying to juggle a bunch of different hobbies right now?
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That's what I used to do.
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I had a narrow view of time and it made me miserable.
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Now I'm all for memento mori and I'm all for enjoying the present, but it's no fun if you feel obligated to fill every single spare minute with one of your 10 different hobbies.
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And that's why I'm happy to not follow certain things.
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I know my plate is full today and I have no room to add anything to it.
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But at the same time, I'm sure that at some point in the future, I will be given the chance to create time and create room for new and exciting pursuits.
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Building your character is a lifelong game, literally.
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So if you feel the same way, maybe overwhelmed by too many options, then I invite you to reflect.
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What can I defer to the future?
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Which pursuits can wait so that the more important ones can shine in the here and now?
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This next tip I'm quite proud of because I haven't seen it anywhere else.
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And I used it to develop some new skills without adding anything to my schedule.
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In other words, I spent zero extra time doing this.
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It sounds too good to be true, but believe me, it's not because rather than adding new things to your schedule, you reframe existing ones.
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This will make more sense of the story, so bear with me.
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In my first year of college, I had to start cooking every meal myself.
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Yeah, tragic, I know, but no more could I rely on the home-cooked meals I was used to.
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And of course, it's no big deal to me now, but at the time, it was a big change.
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It was intimidating, even.
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Back then, I knew shit all about cooking, so I had two choices.
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Do I make struggle meals for myself every day, like we're under siege or something, or do I learn how to cook?
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Maybe you can see where this is going.
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With my budget right now, I can't afford to eat out very often, nor do I want to screw up my health with low-quality ready meals.
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So I have to start cooking.
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I thought to myself, since I can't avoid it, I may as well get good at it.
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So from that day onwards, I took a little bit of extra effort to improve my cooking skills.
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I would watch technique videos on YouTube, I would find good recipes, I would pick up the ingredients on the way home from college or whatever, and I would do my best to execute the recipes properly.
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I learned all the fundamentals, basic knife skills, things like heat transfer and how different foods pair with each other.
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Sure, I had my failures and I had frustrations, but what did I get out of it?
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Well, I got some damn good food and a skill that I would use for the rest of my life.
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And I could do all of this at no extra cost to any of my other interests.
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So again, I ask you to reflect.
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Is there something every day that you have to do that you could find joy in improving?
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Maybe you have lots of essay assignments at school.
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Yeah, sure, the topic may be boring, but you can at least focus on doing the writing well.
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Maybe you manage a small team at work, so you can pick up a few books on leadership and develop that.
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Maybe you love a good coffee, so you find a new brewing method and make that taste really nice.
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The possibilities are endless and they're exciting, so get out there and find what works for you.
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I have two more smaller tips that help me progress in many areas without feeling overwhelmed.
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The first one addresses the source of the problem.
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It reveals where this desire to do everything might actually come from in the first place.
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Yes, being curious and hungry to learn is part of it, but that's not the problem.
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The real issue is shiny object syndrome.
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Starting the next thing just because it's different and refreshing.
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And that's just a distraction from the pursuits that matter the most to you.
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And looking back into my past, I can see a subtle but disturbing influence coming from my phone.
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And I can guarantee this has happened to you.
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Because whenever I scroll through YouTube shorts or Instagram reels, I end up just feeling disappointed with myself.
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And not for the reason you'd think, the time wasting, but something completely different.
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Instead I feel a sense of shame
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because i have tricked my mind into thinking that i'm not doing enough
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and that i have to keep doing more and more
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and more for example i might see a cool video on soap making
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and i think to myself damn that's cool i wish i could do that
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and then two seconds later i see someone making mead from
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scratch in their living room again that's amazing that's absolutely fantastic i wish I could do that.
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And maybe two minutes later, I see someone showing off their notebook
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and it has these beautiful pencil drawings in ultra realistic detail of these Renaissance statues and sculptures.
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And again, this is fantastic.
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Within the space of maybe 10 minutes, you've been exposed to results of years, maybe decades of practice and experience in like 50 different crafts and hobbies.
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It's inspiring, don't get me wrong, but there's dark side to it.
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You might be left feeling inadequate, feeling that what you're doing is not enough and
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that you should be doing everything you're seeing the worst part is it's totally irrational
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and you and i know that you have your own skills ones
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that are valuable to the world and just
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because you don't share the same 50 skills you see online
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that doesn't make your skills any less valuable
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and i have to learn to block out this feeling of jealousy almost the jealousy
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that i can't do what they do i want other people's
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creative success to be motivation for my own not a form of sabotage
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so just keep that in mind the next time you scroll through social media.
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My last tip fixes this problem from the opposite end and
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if you combine it with every other principle on this list
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then you've created yourself I think a bulletproof plan for reaching that ideal of the the polymath, the renaissance man.
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If you were tired of harsh truths then I'm sorry because there's one more and I promise it's the last one.
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Following your interests will not always be fun.
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There will be moments of annoyance, struggle and burnout and this is true for everything because mastery requires that you overcome challenges.
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To grow you must struggle, you must learn and you must overcome things that were holding you back.
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I first saw this graph from Alex Hormozzi, the famous business guy, and it describes the stages of emotion that a entrepreneur goes through when he starts a business.
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And this stuck to me ever since I saw it because you can apply this to your hobbies as well.
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The first step is uninformed optimism.
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You see this new skill and you're excited, it looks fun, and you dive into it with all this confidence.
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In the next step, things get darker.
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You start to realise this is not all fun games and things might just get harder from here.
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This step is informed pessimism.
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The novelty wears off and you realize, shit this is harder than it looks.
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I'm gonna have to put a lot more effort in than I previously thought and don't worry because it gets worse.
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In step three you've entered the valley of despair.
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When you enter a new interest this will be the closest you get to your breaking point.
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In the valley of despair all you can see are the negative things and you realize this is really damn difficult.
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Again you're at a crossroads.
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At this point many people will quit
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and they'll they'll look to the next hobby so they can start
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that whole cycle all over again however if you choose to stick with it
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and push past that dip you enter step four informed optimism
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and from here things start to get better
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because you've seen the dark side but you also know
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that with effort and consistency you can push past that
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and you can achieve greatness alongside the struggle
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and you also see things start to pay off
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and that's where you get the motivation to continue until you reach step five
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which is achievement you achieved something
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and in this case that's a healthy set of skills
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that you can be proud of and that's it that is everything
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and that was a long video
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so thank you for sticking around it's everything i've learned in my journey to do lots of different things
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but keep it realistic
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and not sabotage myself in the process the treasure is in
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the balance of it of course i still have a long way to go in my own journey
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and i'm hoping that at least one thing from this list can help you in
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that same journey and of course i'd love to hear your experience on this.
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Maybe some advice that you would give to someone on a similar path, or maybe some experiences you had with staying focused.
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The comments are open, my emails are open, and thank you for watching.
הורד אפליקציה
כל מה שאתה צריך כדי לדבר בשטף
הגיית AIציון לכל משפט
תרגול IPAשלוט בכל צליל
אוצר מיליםבנה את מאגר המילים שלך
משחק אוצר מיליםלמד תוך כדי משחק
אותו ערוץ
FOR YOU
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Manage Multiple Interests”. This video has 244 sentences and 3418 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:58. The speaker talks fast, about 228 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| pursuit noun | /pɝˈsut/ | The act of pursuing. |
| violin noun | /ˌvaɪ.əˈlɪn/ | A small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned (lowest to highest) G-D-A-E, usually held against the chin and played with a bow. |
| overwhelm verb | /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwɛlm/ | To engulf, surge over and submerge. |
| sabotage noun | /ˈsæb.əˌtɑʒ/ | A deliberate action aimed at weakening someone (or something, a nation, etc) or preventing them from being successful, through subversion, obstruction… |
| renaissance noun | /ɹəˈneɪs(ə)ns/ | A rebirth or revival. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| specialize verb | /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/ | To narrow in scope. |
| optimism noun | /ˈɑptɪmɪzəm/ | a tendency to expect the best, or at least, a favourable outcome |
| jealousy noun | /ˈd͡ʒɛl.ə.si/ | A state of being jealous; a jealous attitude. |
| lifelong adjective | /ˈlaɪf.lɔːŋ/ | Extending for the entire duration of life. |
| distraction noun | /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/ | Something that distracts. |
| despair noun | /dɪˈspɛə(ɹ)/ | Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency. |
| scroll noun | /skɹoʊl/ | A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll. |
| meaningful adjective | /ˈmiː.nɪŋ.fl̩/ | Having meaning, significant. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| branch out verb | To expand in the manner of branches. |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. |
| get out verb | To leave or escape. |
| pick up verb | To lift; to grasp and raise. |
| push past verb | To rudely force one's way in front of another. |
| come up with verb | To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it. |
| get out of verb | To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of. |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- When are you going to start that?
- When are you going to branch out?
- What on this list is most important to me?
- I'm kind of bad and I know why.
- What can I defer to the future?
דקדוק בסרטון הזה
המבנים שהדובר משתמש בהם הכי הרבה, עם המילים המדויקות מהסרטון:
| מבנה | בסרטון |
|---|---|
| הווה מושלם (Present perfect) have/has + past participle — פעולה שקרתה בעבר ועדיין יש לה חשיבות או השפעה עכשיו | we've built · You've heard · I've been |
| סביל (Passive voice) be + past participle — הדגש הוא על מה שקורה, לא על מי שעושה את הפעולה | being pushed · be considered · be stretched |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 63 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, can't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: sabotage /ˈsæb.əˌtɑʒ/, specialize /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, harsh /ˈhɑɹʃ/, irrational /ɪˈɹæʃ.(ə.)nəl/
- Long words — get the stress right: optimism /ˈɑptɪmɪzəm/, counterintuitive /ˌkaʊntəɹɪnˈtuɪtɪv/, generalist /ˈd͡ʒɛn.(ə.)ɹə.lɪst/, intimidate /ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/, personalize /ˈpɜː.sə.nə.laɪz/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like hobby, pursuit, violin.
מהי טכניקת השאדואינג?
שאדואינג היא טכניקת למידת שפה מבוססת מדע שפותחה במקור להכשרת מתורגמנים מקצועיים ופופולרית על ידי הפוליגלוט ד"ר אלכסנדר ארגואלס. השיטה פשוטה אך עוצמתית: אתה מקשיב לאודיו באנגלית ילידית וחוזר עליו בקול רם מיד — כמו צל העוקב אחרי הדובר עם עיכוב של 1–2 שניות בלבד. בניגוד להאזנה פסיבית או תרגילי דקדוק, שאדואינג מכריח את המוח והשרירים בפה לעבד ולשחזר דפוסי דיבור אמיתיים בו זמנית. מחקרים מראים שזה משפר משמעותית את דיוק ההגייה, האינטונציה, הקצב, הדיבור המחובר, הבנת השמיעה ושטף הדיבור — מה שהופך אותו לאחת השיטות היעילות ביותר להכנה לIELTS Speaking ולתקשורת באנגלית בעולם האמיתי.