Shadowing Practice: B2 English Conversation: Why Can't We Relax? - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey everybody, welcome back to High Level Listening.
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We've got another B2 and C1 Level English video for you today,
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where we're going to really try to test your listening skills and help you push through into that higher level English.
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Today we're talking about something that can make even your free time feel strangely stressful.
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It's kind of that pressure to always be productive.
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Yeah, exactly.
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Does this ever sound like you?
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Imagine you've finished work, you've answered all your emails, and you've done everything that you actually needed to do.
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But then, sitting on the sofa or relaxing for an hour somehow starts to make you feel guilty.
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Like maybe there's a little voice in your head saying you should be exercising, you should be learning something,
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or cleaning the house, or finally tackling one of the million things on your to -do list.
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I feel like that's my entire generation for sure.
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So and that's what's interesting about today's B2 and C1 discussion because that's what it's going to be about today.
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So being productive is obviously useful.
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Setting goals and improving yourself can be very positive things.
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But when does being disciplined turned into putting yourself under this constant pressure that you can't even take a moment to relax.
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Yeah, so today we're going deeper into that very question.
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Has being busy become a kind of status symbol?
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Has self -improvement turned into another form of work?
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And have we become so uncomfortable with doing nothing that we've forgotten how to properly switch off?
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Absolutely.
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And this lesson is really going to challenge your listening and vocabulary skills in that higher level English.
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And if you want to improve your English and get better at expressing your own opinions, kind of on deeper topics like this,
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come check out our B2 and C1 active discussion pack.
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We've kind of revamped some of the worksheets to kind of make them a little bit more easily digestible and practical.
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So you'll get these guided speaking exercises, vocabulary lists, full transcripts, of course, if you want to follow along,
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and the MP3s that you can help you turn your passive English into more active speaking.
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So you'll find the link in the description and the pinned comment below.
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Okay, so let's start with something that I've definitely noticed.
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People almost seem to, I don't know, take pride in how busy they are.
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You ask someone how they've been, and instead of simply saying good, they'll say, oh my gosh, I've been absolutely slammed, or it's been nonstop lately.
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And sure, sometimes life genuinely is hectic, but I think we've gradually developed this mindset where being constantly busy is somehow a measure of success.
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The more commitments you have, the more important you appear to be.
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If your schedule is packed and people are constantly demanding your time and attention,
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it can give you this sense of purpose and make you feel indispensable.
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However, on the flip side, if you've had a relatively quiet week with hardly anything going on,
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you might actually feel a little embarrassed to admit it as though you're not being productive enough.
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There's kind of this underlying pressure to constantly have something on your plate.
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And I think we've reached a point where slowing down is almost mistaken for sort of a lack of ambition.
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Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.
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Although I wonder if some of it is simply
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because being busy often indicates that you are engaged with your life or like you said, kind of important.
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Having responsibilities that matter can also give your days a sense of structure.
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But also if you've got work projects, hobbies, friends, family commitments, and plans for the weekend, naturally you're going to have a fairly full schedule.
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And I don't think having a busy life is inherently problematic
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because there are people who genuinely thrive on having a lot going on.
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Absolutely.
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And I'm not suggesting everyone should just clear their calendar and spend their days staring at the wall.
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I think the real issue is
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when being constantly busy becomes a reflection kind of of your self -worth rather than simply a description of your schedule.
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And I'll be one of the first to admit that I've fallen into that mindset myself sometimes.
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I'll have an unexpected hour to spare and my immediate instinct is to think, okay, what can I knock off my to -do list?
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Rather than actually just embracing the opportunity to slow down, it's almost as though we've conditioned ourselves to believe
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that every single spare moment means to be productive and that any time spent doing absolutely nothing is somehow time wasted, right?
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Laying in bed, scrolling through your phone, etc. What's particularly frustrating for me is that even when we do carve out some much needed downtime,
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there really is still this lingering sense of guilt that we should be doing something more worthwhile, right?
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It's as if we become so preoccupied with making the most of our time that we've forgotten how to actually enjoy it.
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Yeah, for sure.
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And then technology has exacerbated that a little as well.
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I remember growing up, there used to be little gaps in the day where you just couldn't accomplish things.
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Maybe you just waiting for a bus, you're standing in a queue, or you're sitting in a waiting room.
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But now in those same scenarios, you can answer emails, you can organize your calendar, or you could listen to an educational podcast,
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or deal with some life admin on your phone.
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There's no dead time anymore, provided that you have a phone or smart device and the internet.
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And I suppose to technology's credit, that can be genuinely useful.
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If I answer three emails while waiting 20 minutes for the bus, maybe I freed up 20 minutes later.
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It's true.
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Absolutely.
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And answering a few emails while you're waiting for an appointment definitely seems productive, at least on the surface level.
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But are we really gaining anything
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if we feel compelled to fill every spare moment with a brand new task
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or another task that we need to finish, right?
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I think that's where technology has actually made things worse.
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We've become so accustomed to being constantly connected that even five minutes of doing absolutely nothing can feel like a missed opportunity.
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And the irony is, despite having all these tools designed to save us time,
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I don't think we're necessarily any less overwhelmed or we're saving ourselves any real amount of time.
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If anything, we just keep piling more onto our plates.
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So while I can appreciate the convenience, right, I do wonder whether all this efficiency is genuinely making our lives easier
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or whether it's just raising our expectations of how much we should be accomplishing.
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Yeah, right.
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That's painfully true.
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And perhaps there's difference between being efficient and being genuinely productive.
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You can become incredibly efficient at completing tasks without questioning whether all those tasks actually needed to be done
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so urgently or so immediately.
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And there's a temptation to judge a good day by how many boxes you've ticked.
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So you answer messages, you reorganize something or clear your inbox and deal with lots of small jobs, if you're constantly doing something,
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that doesn't necessarily mean you're moving towards anything genuinely important.
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And think of all the busy work that we had to do at school.
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You know, if you finished your task quite early, your teacher would give you something useless to do just to keep you busy
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and keep you occupied while the other students did something, right?
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So I think part of the appeal of those smaller tasks is that they give us this instant sense of accomplishment,
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a quick dopamine hit, tackling something more demanding
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that requires a couple of hours of uninterrupted concentration might actually be far more worthwhile.
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But ticking five easy things off your to -do list gives you that immediate satisfaction.
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And it's almost as though, we've become conditioned to prioritize these quick wins over the meaningful progress.
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And that's where I think busyness can become a distraction in and of itself.
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We get so caught up in the satisfaction of getting things done
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that we don't necessarily stop to question whether those things are actually worth our time and energy.
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Yeah, I agree.
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Although ordinary life does contain lots of boring jobs that genuinely still need doing, like bills,
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laundry, going to doctors or dentist appointments and things like shopping aren't meaningless just because they aren't exciting or advance your career.
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So perhaps there's another trap there, putting pressure on ourselves to make everything we do feel really significant.
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Not every Tuesday afternoon has to move you closer to life's purpose.
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I think sometimes you just have to get through the washing.
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Okay, let's move on to the second part of today's discussion.
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Has self -improvement turned into another form of work?
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These days, it feels like modern self -improvement is more demanding and more engrossing than ever.
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So work is not the only area where we're encouraged to perform better anymore.
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We're also supposed to optimize everything outside of work too.
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So you shouldn't just exercise, you should have a training plan and track your progress.
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You shouldn't just take a nap.
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You should monitor your sleep, count how many steps you take or your screen time, your habits, your reading.
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Suddenly, all of our lives, even the relaxing parts, have metrics.
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attached to them.
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We're maxing everything, right?
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Looks maxing, we're protein maxing, fiber maxing, sleep maxing, everything we do.
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Now we have to do it all and there's no excuse for not doing it perfectly.
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So it's understandable why some people think this whole approach is exhausting.
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Well, yeah, and that's definitely where I have some mixed feelings because I'm actually a big believer in setting goals.
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Whether you're trying to get stronger, put some money aside, or become more fluent in another language,
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being able to track your progress can be incredibly motivating, especially when your initial enthusiasm starts to wear off.
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But I do think there's a tipping point where this self -improvement stops feeling empowering
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and it starts feeling like another full -time responsibility.
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You can't just go for a walk and appreciate a beautiful evening anymore, you've got to hit a certain number of steps.
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Even activities that are supposed to be enjoyable can become yet another obligation, as though everything you do needs to contribute towards some bigger goal.
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I think about a lot of people who can't just sit down and draw a pretty picture.
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They have to think about how to monetize their art in the future or something like that.
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Right.
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Yeah.
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You can't do anything for the sake of doing it.
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and then the slightly absurd thing is
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that even relaxation can become something to optimize and you start meditating
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because you want to relax and then you might get annoyed with yourself
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because you're not relaxing efficiently enough and then social media probably intensifies
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that pressure because we're exposed to other people's routines whether they're real
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or not you might see someone on Instagram waking up at five, going to the gym, meal prepping,
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journaling, reading and running a business before you've even had a coffee.
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So it's easy to feel like you're failing and you're leaving
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so much on the table that even trying it is barely worth it because you'll never do it as good as that.
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I know, especially as a beginner, you start as a beginner and then you see everybody on the hard mode and you think,
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oh, I can do that.
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And you fail immediately.
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So it's It's just a lot of pressure overall.
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I think social media makes that pressure particularly difficult to escape.
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Even when you're completely aware that someone's showing you a carefully curated version of their life, it's really hard not to compare it to your own,
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which, I mean, is a much messier reality than what's curated on my phone on Instagram.
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That being said, I wouldn't go so far as to say self -improvement content is inherently harmful.
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I picked up some genuinely useful habits from people online.
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But when you're constantly bombarded with advice about how to optimize every aspect of your life,
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it can really leave you feeling like you're perpetually falling short.
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You're not getting up early enough.
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You're not working out consistently enough.
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You're not investing wisely enough or making the most of your free time.
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And at some point, all that supposedly helpful advice starts to feel like a never ending list of personal shortcomings.
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Yeah, right.
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And you're often comparing yourself to completely different people.
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Your fitness comes from one person and then your career expectations come from someone else
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and your finances from another influencer and your social life from another person entirely.
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But in your head, you then create one imaginary superhuman who does all of these things perfectly.
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And then you wonder why you can't keep up.
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That's such a good point.
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And I think that's that same mentality has started creeping into our hobbies too.
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You may take up baking or something because you find it relaxing.
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And before long, someone's telling you, oh, you should start selling these.
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I hear that all the time, right?
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If something is even remotely good, oh, you should start selling these.
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Maybe you develop a passion for photography and suddenly people are encouraging you to turn it into a business.
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All right.
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Monetize, monetize.
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You have to monetize everything.
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It's almost as though simply enjoying something isn't a good enough reason to keep doing it anymore.
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That's kind of this new sort of underlying expectation that if you've got a particular skill or a talent,
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you ought to be doing something productive with it.
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Preferably something that brings in a little extra cash.
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Right.
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Yes.
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And it is the easiest way to suck the fun out of a hobby is trying to monetize it.
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But yeah, as you said, we're in such a side hustle culture at the moment, it seems.
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I will say, though, turning something you love into an income stream can be life changing.
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There are people who have built successful careers from hobbies.
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And if you're doing something like that and you still genuinely enjoy it and you make something that people genuinely want.
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I don't think there's anything wrong with spotting that opportunity.
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And then a side hustle can also give you more financial independence
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or maybe even allow you to change jobs or leave a job that you dislike.
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It's not the dream, though.
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That's what we all dream of.
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And of course, I completely agree that turning a passion into a career could be incredibly rewarding.
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And for some people, it opens doors they never even imagined were possible.
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But I do think there's a downside to approaching every single hobby as a potential business opportunity.
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The moment you start worrying about customers, deadlines, or whether something is profitable, your relationship with that activity can fundamentally change.
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And I think there's something really liberating about allowing yourself to be completely mediocre
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or horrible at something without feeling the need to improve it or justify it.
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You can paint terrible pictures that no one would ever buy.
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You can play tennis without having any competitive ambitions, or you can bake a cake simply because you feel like it.
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Not everything we do needs to produce a tangible result.
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Sometimes the enjoyment is more than enough.
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At least that's what I keep telling myself.
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Right.
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Yes.
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No, I agree.
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I like that idea.
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And perhaps that's what gets lost when you're permanently focused on improvement improvement always implies
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that the current version could be better and
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that mindset can push you forward but living in it constantly can be exhausting
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and very demotivating
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because you never really arrive as soon as one habit becomes established there's another area to work on
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so it's like climbing a mountain without stopping to enjoy the
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view on the way up where the mountain keeps growing higher
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and higher and higher
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so i know i i do think that's what makes the whole self -improvement mindset
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so exhausting you finally achieve something you've been working towards
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and rather than taking a moment to appreciate it you're already setting your sights on the next milestone
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or what normally happens to me is i get about 90 of the way done
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and i already i quit that project to think about my next project
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but you did yeah and you know there's always this supposedly better version of yourself
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but it's just out of reach okay it's
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that someone is more disciplined they're more successful
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and somehow has every aspect of their life figured out
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and that's who you want to be that's who you're shooting for
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but I think we need to distinguish between genuinely wanting to grow
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and constantly feeling dissatisfied with who we currently are you can
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work towards becoming stronger without being overly critical of your body as it is right now
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You can pursue a better career without dismissing everything you've already accomplished.
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And you can strive to become more fluent in a new language while still recognizing just how far you've already come.
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Those things aren't mutually exclusive.
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Yeah, I agree.
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Although maybe a certain amount, a small amount of dissatisfaction can be useful.
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Ambition often begins by recognizing a gap between where you are
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and where you would like to be if you were completely satisfied with everything, perhaps we'd never challenge ourselves or grow.
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Yeah, that's fair.
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And I wouldn't want to suggest that feeling dissatisfied is always a bad thing.
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Having ambitions and setting goals can definitely give you a sense of direction, but that doesn't mean every aspect of your life needs to be measured,
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evaluated, or turned into another personal performance review.
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Okay, so there you have it.
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The pressure to be productive goes much deeper than simply having a busy schedule.
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We've talked about busyness, efficiency, self -improvement, comparison, side hustles, all kinds of different things in today's discussion.
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And we'd love to hear what you think.
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Do you feel guilty when you're not being productive?
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Do you think self -improvement has gone a little too far?
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And are you comfortable doing absolutely nothing sometimes?
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Let us know in the comments and try using some of today's B2 and C1 vocabulary to explain your opinion.
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And if you want to take discussions like this from passive listening to active speaking, check out our B2 and C1 Active Discussion Pack.
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You'll get guided speaking exercises, vocabulary lists, full transcripts, and MP3s to help you build longer, more confident answers in English.
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You'll find the link in the description and in the pinned comment below.
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If you enjoyed today's discussion, don't forget to like the video, subscribe, and keep practicing your English with us here at High Level Listening.
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Thank you very much for watching.
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We'll see you very soon for another video here on High Level Listening.
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Bye -bye.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “B2 English Conversation: Why Can't We Relax?”. This video has 248 sentences and 3205 words to shadow. The speech runs for 19:33. The speaker talks at a natural 164 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 84% 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| genuinely adverb | /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/ | In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly. |
| productive adjective | /pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/ | Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile. |
| relax verb | /ɹɪˈlæks/ | To make something loose. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| ambition noun | /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/ | Eager or inordinate desire for some object that confers distinction, as preferment, honor, superiority, political power, or fame; desire to distinguish one's… |
| mindset noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)ˌsɛt/ | A way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| necessarily adverb | /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/ | Inevitably; of necessity. |
| aspect noun | /ˈæspɛkt/ | Any specific feature, part, or element of something. |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| spare adjective | /spɛɚ/ | Being more than what is necessary, or what must be used or reserved; not wanted, or not used; superfluous. |
| habit noun | /ˈhæb.ɪt/ | An action performed on a regular basis. |
| expectation noun | /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/ | The act or state of expecting or looking forward to an event as about to happen. |
| exhaust verb | /ɪɡˈzɔst/ | To draw or let out wholly; to drain completely. |
| compare verb | /kəmˈpɛɚ/ | To assess the similarities and differences between two or more things [“to compare X with Y”]. Having made the comparison of X with Y, one might have found it… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| check out verb | To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.). | |
| slow down verb | To decelerate. | |
| figure out verb | To come to understand; to discover or find a solution; to deduce. | |
| follow along verb | To continue behind or beside an animal, person, vehicle or other object, especially as a companion. | |
| get through verb | /ɡɛt ˈθɹu/ | To overcome; to endure. |
| get up verb | To move in an upward direction; to ascend or climb. | |
| grow up verb | To mature and become an adult. | |
| keep up verb | To maintain; to preserve; to prevent from deteriorating or falling. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Does this ever sound like you?
- I feel like that's my entire generation for sure.
- You shouldn't just take a nap.
- You're not getting up early enough.
- Do you feel guilty when you're not being productive?
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | you've finished · have we become · I've definitely noticed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being disciplined · I've been absolutely slammed · being constantly connected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who genuinely · people who can · people who have |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 97 contractions and reduced forms, such as you're, you've, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/, enthusiasm /ɪnˈθuziæzəm/, thrive /θɹajv/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/, passion /ˈpæʃən/, efficient /ɪˈfɪʃənt/, efficiency /ɪˈfɪʃ.ən.si/
- Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, necessarily /ˌnɛs.əˈsɛɹ.ə.li/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
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 genuinely, productive, relax.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.