Shadowing Practice: How to Get Smarter in One Summer (a step-by-step guide) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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July, which means half of the year is already behind us.
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And I know what that can feel like.
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That little voice that starts listing everything you say you would do by now, but didn't.
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The panic you start experiencing, the urge to either start running very quickly, or.. close your eyes,
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pretend nothing is happening, and continue doomscrolling for another hour.
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What I want to offer today is something different.
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A different approach to your mid -year reset.
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Not a plan to catch up, not a challenge to be more disciplined.
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I don't want you to be adding 10 new things to your already full life
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while experiencing a lot of guilt and shame that you just don't have wasn't a deadline.
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I know, crazy thinking.
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What if instead of treating it as a moment to feel behind, you approached it from the perspective of, it's a natural checkpoint.
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Let me go on a coffee date with myself and honestly ask.
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How am I doing?
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What's working?
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What isn't?
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And what do I want the second half of the year to look like?
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Because the thing is, no lasting change happens from a frantic brain.
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From feeling like there is something wrong with you, like you're behind, you feel guilty,
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and you feel a lot of shame that you haven't achieved all of your goals by now.
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Real sustainable change comes from learning and enjoyment, from regulating yourself first.
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And that is what today's video is about.
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Hi, if you're new here, welcome.
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My name is Veronica and on this channel I help you slow down, regulate your nervous system, and reconnect with what actually matters to you.
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Before we get into it, I want to invite you to join my free weekly newsletter called Aligned.
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I send out emails every single week with my personal reflections, all the lessons I'm learning, and interesting tips and tricks.
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It's completely free and the link to join is going to be in the description.
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All right.
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So first of all, let's talk about why for so many of us right now during the mid year reset,
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it just feels like your brain can't absorb any new information.
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Like you watch all of those getting smarter videos, but you feel like you're not actually getting more productive.
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And the thing is, you cannot absorb information when your nervous system is in survival mode.
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now you feel completely burned out, you look at your vision board, and instead of feeling inspired and motivated and aligned, you feel panic.
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I mean, you can absorb information from this panicky state, but it won't stick because students do that all the time.
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The cram, the pass, and then a week later, all of the knowledge is gone.
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I heard this amazing quote recently that I really want to read for you
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fulfilled life learning without enjoyment wears you down and Enjoyment without learning dulls you.
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So real learning, the kind that changes who you are and how you think, requires a nervous system that feels safe enough to consolidate all of this knowledge.
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And a huge part of feeling safe is actually enjoying what you're doing.
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That's something that I always talk about on my YouTube channel.
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And unfortunately, a lot of us can't really access that place of pleasure and enjoyment because we're all experiencing high -functioning
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High functioning burnout is a very interesting concept
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and there was an article written about it I think in June so very recently.
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Basically what it means is from the outside everything looks fine.
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You're showing up, you're getting things done, you're highly functional.
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You have a very long to -do list and every single day you cross every single task off.
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But inside when you really left.
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You're performing productivity.
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You're not actually living through it.
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And the sneaky thing about high functioning burnout is how we approach rest and relaxation.
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Because oftentimes we associate guilt and shame with resting because in our minds we always have to be performing,
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we always have to be productive.
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And so when we do choose to rest, we usually just numb out.
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Like we doom scroll for
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watch a show without even like understanding what's going on there because we're just so freaking tired on the inside.
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So the reason why I'm mentioning all of this is because I deeply believe that getting smarter doesn't start with more input.
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It doesn't start with you sitting down doing your mid -year reset looking into your vision board
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that you created at the beginning of the year and realizing that you have failed.
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That you are a failure and you know criticizing yourself
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Pairing yourself with everyone else who's sharing their mid -year resets
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and how they have already achieved every single goal on their vision board.
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Getting smarter this summer starts with creating the conditions where your brain can actually absorb anything at all.
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And for a lot of us, what it's going to look like is resting.
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Recharging.
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Doing nothing.
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The good news is it's summer right now
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and summer is actually a very good window for people psychologically
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and biologically to reset and to just like think about your direction for the rest of the year.
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First of all, sunlight in summer literally boosts dopamine through your eyes.
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It stimulates pathways in your retina that signal your brain to produce more dopamine.
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It helps regulate your mood, your focus, and your attention.
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So your brain is literally more receptive to change right now than it was in December
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and January when it was dark and cold outside.
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And of course, psychologically, we have this amazing fresh start effect that so many of us love.
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We're significantly more motivated after a new week, so on Mondays, a new month, the first of this month, and after a new season.
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okay, today is the first day of summer, I'm so motivated, and let's say if today is even Monday, I'm even more motivated to make a change.
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And the mechanism behind the fresh start effect is actually very interesting, because this landmark, you know, the first of every single month,
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let's say, it creates some kind of distance from our past selves.
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We immediately think, okay, I'm Today is Monday.
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It means it's new me, you know, everything is going to be new, everything is going to be different.
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This is a new chapter and I'm ready to change something.
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you So that's why with all of this amazing energy that summer offers,
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I want you to approach the mid -year reset as a coffee date with yourself, not as a criticism session,
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noticing everything that's wrong with you, every single area where you're behind.
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One of the biggest things that I like to do
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when I do my reset is I like to look at the goals that I set for myself in January or
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my vision board because I create a vision board for every single year.
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It's a really creative process for me and I really like doing it.
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I'm not doing it because I have to.
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So once you have all of your goals ready
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that you're set for yourself at the beginning of the year and your vision board, I want you to read through everything.
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Look at all of your images and ask yourself these two questions.
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Question number one.
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Am I still willing to live the daily life that this goal requires?
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This is such a beautiful question.
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Like, I'm saying it and I'm getting goosebumps.
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Because oftentimes when we create a goal for ourselves and we save a beautiful picture on Pinterest,
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we imagine what it would feel like to actually, you know, be there.
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You know, I have achieved this goal, my life is great, everything you know, the daily grind.
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Because every goal has a price and the price isn't the result.
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The price is the daily life you have to build, the priorities that you need to have to actually get there.
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The workouts, the studying, the consistency, the art of showing up.
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And so I really want you to be honest and ask yourself like, am I willing to actually continue paying this price?
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Is this something that I'll give you a personal example from my vision board.
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I look at my vision board and I see that I have a picture of a girl doing a handstand.
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Learning this type of skill requires a lot of practice, especially if you want to learn the correct technique.
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It means that I have to be including those workouts, you know, maybe four times a week, maybe even five times a week if I'm really serious about it.
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And I am.
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Not because somebody made me be serious about this, but because I truly love it.
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Remember the quote from the beginning, learning and enjoyment are the secret to a fulfilled life.
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So this goal is truly connected to learning and enjoyment for me.
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So when I look at this goal, I realized that if I am learning how to do a handstand,
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it means that I'm not dedicating all I ran a marathon in 2022.
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Let me tell you, the preparation was hard.
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At that time, I definitely wasn't learning how to do a handstand because my priority,
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my single -pointed focus was on running a marathon.
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And at that time, I was willing to live the daily life that the goal required.
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Right now, that's not something I want to do, at least right now in this specific moment, maybe in the future, I'll have a running goal again,
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but right now I want to live a different type of daily life.
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So that is why my goals are a bit different.
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And the second question you can ask yourself when looking at your goal and your picture on your vision board is, does this goal excite me?
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Or does it drain me? like looking at it now in the middle of the year, not at the beginning of the year when the excitement is high,
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you're thinking about all the new things you want to accomplish, but now.
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You've probably already tried doing this thing.
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And what do you think?
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Like, honestly, does it excite you or does it drain you?
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We're not thinking about setting goals that will sound impressive when you share them with other people.
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We're thinking about the goals that will light up something inside you.
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One of those goals for me for this year has been focusing on this YouTube channel.
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Having the single pointed focus on the content that I post here.
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channel, about language learning.
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I'm not posting there anymore.
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And maybe when talking to someone else, you know, that person might be like, "You're crazy.
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Why have you stopped posting there?" But when I made that decision, when I created this goal for myself, I had to be honest about my energy,
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about my time and my priorities.
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This is what I'm choosing.
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everything else goes on the waiting list
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and actually i know in this video i've been talking a lot about priorities and planning
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and i want to share something exciting with you guys i'm currently working on my weekly planner app
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that is inspired by my weekly planner document that you can get
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and download or print i really like my printable weekly planner but i also understand
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so that they see all of their tasks, their habits, and their priorities there.
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The app is still in the works, but if you want to be the first one to know when it's ready, the link to join the wait list is going to be in the description.
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I am really, really excited.
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Another principle I like to follow to do my mid -year reset is getting smarter through subtraction.
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Not adding more things, not piling
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when we think about you know resetting and becoming more productive
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and changing something about our lives we immediately think
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that we need to add more habits like literally cram our days so
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that there is not a single moment of quiet there is
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no free time whatsoever we need more habits we need more structure
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and we need more routines but in my experience the thing that Hi,
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on my channel, I talk so much about,
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you know, getting distracted and how social media and doom scrolling often distract us from what really matters,
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from focusing on your goal.
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Getting smarter isn't about putting more into an already full system.
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It's about making space for the things that actually energize you.
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In general, you guys know I like to think about goal setting but energy management.
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Because you can have all the time in the world, but if you have high functioning burnout and if you realize that your energy is just depleted,
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you will spend that time scrolling, but not moving towards your goals.
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And so another question that I like to add to my mid -year reset
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when I journal is not what can I add to be even more productive or to look even
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right now that I have the power to remove.
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And for me, what was draining my energy for a very long time was the fact
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that I was going to a yoga studio every single day and spending a lot of time in traffic.
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I shared the story before,
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but I just think it's such a good example of how we oftentimes really have to learn how to regulate our emotions.
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Because in those moments when I, had to sit down and journal and reflect,
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I realized that my ego was the one telling me that shut up and do it.
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You can do it.
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It doesn't matter.
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It doesn't matter that you're tired, that your day structure looks completely different now because you go to a studio every single morning.
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these are all excuses now after all of my reflection
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and journaling i don't want to be listening to
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that voice anymore i have the power to remove the thing
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that is draining my energy and i'm going to do it
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because my priority is protecting my energy the same thing happened in my language journey
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when it comes to foreign languages i'm naturally very curious so you know so many other languages obviously like English,
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Chinese and Spanish and at some point I was like, Veronica, you need to prioritize something.
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Because obviously I have all the other goals in life as well. And so...
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I realized that, okay, right now my priority is Spanish.
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That's it.
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When I feel like, okay, my Spanish is pretty good and I'm ready to move on to a different language, I will do that.
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But for now, my priority is Spanish.
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When you subtract what's draining you and tune into what energizes you, you stop fighting yourself.
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You stop thinking, I don't have enough discipline,
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I'm lazy, I lack capacity to actually learn and grow and enjoy your goals because you are protecting your energy.
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All right, so finally, let's move to our practical session, something you can actually sit down with this week.
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These are all the journaling prompts I use right now to identify where my energy is at.
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You can write down your answers or talk to AI about them
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or talk to your friend about all of the goals
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that you still have for this year and all of the concerns you might be thinking about.
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I'll share my answers with you too, so it feels more like we're having a coffee day.
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I share and I really hope you will take some time to respond to all of these questions for you.
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If you want to, you can do it in the comment section or just journal about them privately.
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All right, so question number one.
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What drained me the most in the first half of this year?
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Not what was hard.
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because hard and draining are completely two different things.
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Doing hard and challenging things in life is very good for you.
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That is how you grow.
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But doing things that genuinely drain you, is probably going to lead to burnout
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so for me the answer is video editing editing all of my videos was really really draining me
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and i realized
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that i needed to prioritize a part of my budget to be able to work with an editor
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because the most important thing for me is protecting my consistency on youtube
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if i edit my video and every single time i sit down to edit i hate the full process with it,
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I'm probably going to start thinking if, you know, even making videos on YouTube is for me or not.
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And that is not what I want to be experiencing.
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And so I realized that I really needed to start prioritizing looking for an editor.
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Question number two, what gave me energy, even in small ways, even if it wasn't connected to your work at all?
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What made you feel more like yourself and how can you add more of those things to the rest of the year?
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So for me, the things that energy, even in small ways, are reading, journaling, working out, Doing yoga outside in the park.
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Laying on the grass.
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Watching YouTube videos without distractions.
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Drinking cold coconut water.
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I know, it's a very small thing.
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Sounds weird, but it's something that gave me energy.
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Creating my skincare routine, learning to do makeup, recording YouTube videos, buying an Instapot, and making recipes there.
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Because it really simplified, you know, the whole process for me and made everything so much faster.
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Question number three.
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What am I currently doing out of fear or obligation rather than genuine desire?
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So for me, the answer here, if I have to cook every day multiple times the day, it makes me feel extremely drained.
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So to help me with my energy, I can obviously talk to my husband about it.
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You know, he cooks or I cook or we cook together or we order or we make simple recipes in the Instapot.
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Question number four.
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If I could subtract one thing from my life right now, what would it be?
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I kind of already touched upon this.
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It's going to a yoga studio every single day of time in traffic.
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So yes, that means that I have to be working out at home more often, which is absolutely okay.
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Or I have to be choosing a studio that's located like extremely close to my apartment building.
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And question number five, what does my nervous system need more of this summer?
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So for me, I wrote more single -pointed focus, so when I work, my phone is on do not disturb.
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You know...
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I'm here.
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If I'm working, I'm completely focused on my work.
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I'm not scrolling.
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i'm only working and to be able to do
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that i usually put my phone in another room you know
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somewhere where i just can't see it like right now i'm recording this video
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and my phone is nowhere to be seen more restorative rest like getting a massage i really like getting massages
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but for some reason the process of like scheduling an appointment is something
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that i constantly procrastinate on so it's really interesting okay and finally this summer my nervous system needs Time in the sun,
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time at the beach, next to some kind of body of water, whether it's the ocean or a pool, and just being in nature more.
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Alright guys, one thing that I really want you to take away from this video is
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that getting smarter this summer isn't about reading 50 new books
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or waking up at 5am and optimizing every single hour of your summer.
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your brain can actually recharge.
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It's about doing things that make you feel like a kid again.
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It's summer.
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It's about subtracting what's training you and making a plan from a regulated state, not from panic and thinking like there's something wrong with you and you're behind.
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No, no, no, no. So this summer, go and have a coffee date with yourself, or a matcha date, or a tea date.
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Journal, reflect, and notice all of the patterns without being self -critical.
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I'm actually recording this video a few hours before I'm gonna leave on a trip with my friends, and I'm very excited about it.
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So it's definitely something that is going to help me recharge my energy.
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So I really hope you liked this video.
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If you did, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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If you're thinking about what to watch next, I highly recommend this video right here.
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So I'll see you there or I'll see you in my next video.
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Bye!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “How to Get Smarter in One Summer”. This video has 260 sentences and 3484 words to shadow. The speech runs for 22:35. The speaker talks at a natural 154 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| reset verb | /ɹiːˈsɛt/ | To set back to the initial state. |
| drain noun | /dɹiːn/ | A conduit allowing liquid to flow out of an otherwise contained volume; a plughole (UK) |
| enjoyment noun | /ɪnˈd͡ʒɔɪ.mənt/ | The condition of enjoying anything. |
| regulate verb | /ˈɹɛɡ.jə.leɪt/ | To dictate policy. |
| burnout noun | /ˈbɜː(ɹ)naʊt/ | The experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, especially in one's career. |
| motivate verb | /ˈmoʊ.tɪ.veɪt/ | To provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate. |
| absorb verb | /æbˈsɔɹb/ | To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in… |
| scroll noun | /skɹoʊl/ | A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll. |
| handstand noun | /ˈhændˌstænd/ | The act of standing on one's hands, most often in an inverted way. |
| oftentimes adverb | /ˈɔf.ənˌtaɪmz/ | Frequently; often. |
| prioritize verb | /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/ | To value, do, or choose something first, or before other things. |
| recharge verb | /ɹiːˈtʃɑː(ɹ)dʒ/ | To charge an electric battery after its power has been consumed. |
| subtract verb | /səbˈtɹækt/ | To remove or reduce; especially to reduce a quantity or number. |
| planner noun | /ˈplænɚ/ | One who plans. |
| yoga noun | /ˈjoʊ.ɡə/ | Any of several Hindu or Buddhist disciplines aimed at training the consciousness for a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquillity; especially a system… |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| show up verb | To appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically. |
| sit down verb | To assume a sitting position from a standing position. |
| burn out verb | To destroy by fire. |
| catch up verb | To pick up suddenly. |
| do out of verb | To use unfair means to deprive (someone) of (something). |
| light up verb | To illuminate, to bring light to something, to brighten. |
| live through verb | To survive a difficult period or event |
| read through verb | To thoroughly read something to check or proofread it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How am I doing?
- Hi, if you're new here, welcome.
- You're not actually living through it.
- I'm not doing it because I have to.
- You've probably already tried doing this thing.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | has been focusing · i've been talking |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | haven't achieved · have failed · have already achieved |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is inspired · is just depleted · wasn't connected |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | July, which means · often, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 80 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, you're, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/, pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/, thumb /ˈθʌm/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: massage /məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/, reflection /ɹɪˈflɛkʃən/, subtraction /səbˈtɹækʃən/, relaxation /rᵻˌlækˈseɪ.ʃən/, distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: prioritize /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/, consistency /kənˈsɪs.tən.si/, consolidate /kənˈsɒl.ɪ.deɪt/, procrastinate /pɹoʊˈkɹæs.tə.neɪt/, restorative /ɹɪˈstɒɹətɪv/
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 reset, drain, enjoyment.
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.