Shadowing Practice: Thinking Too Much About The Past? This One Strategy Can Help - Learn English Speaking with Video
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There are two things that can stop you from enjoying the present moment.
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Ruminating about your past and worrying about your future.
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Do you find yourself thinking about things you could have done differently or things that could go wrong?
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Staying present isn't easy, especially when you've been through trauma or struggle with anxiety.
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Practicing mindfulness can help you live a more fulfilled, happy life by being totally in the moment and stopping your mind from wondering.
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Now I know what you're thinking.
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Sigh, you can't just rewire your brain.
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Actually, according to researchers Davis and Hayes, your brain can rewire itself when you have a new experience.
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Because of something known as neuroplasticity, you can change the structure of your brain by practicing new habits, like mindfulness, regularly.
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So why should you worry about being present and mindful?
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Here are four reasons why mindfulness can be your superpower.
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Let's go!
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1. Psychological Flexibility According to Davis and Hayes, when you take a step back and notice your thoughts in an objective way,
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you can temporarily deactivate neural pathways that were formed from your past experiences.
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As a result, you'll have more psychological flexibility
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and can respond based on what is happening in the moment
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instead of automatically reacting the same way you have in the past.
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By using mindfulness, you can adapt to the situation you're in.
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In fact, according to an article published in the Journal of Psychotherapy,
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mindfulness mediation activates parts of the brain that helps with adapting to high stress situations.
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Let's use an example.
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Sarah is having a disagreement with her partner.
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Her first instinct is to get angry and defensive because in the past, arguments with her ex always got heated quickly.
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Instead of automatically reacting, she takes a few deep breaths, becomes aware of her thoughts, and notices how they are affecting her emotions.
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She brings her attention back to a partner to focus on what they're saying.
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This time, Sarah listens intently and responds calmly.
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Because Sarah is practicing mindfulness, she can communicate better, remain present, and regulate her emotions.
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Sarah's situation is just one example of how mindfulness can improve communication in relationships.
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According to an article published in the academic journal Psychotherapy, people who scored higher in mindfulness are more satisfied with their relationships,
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better at dealing with conflict, and more empathetic.
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They also have less anxiety and anger doing an argument, allowing them to respond compassionately instead of getting caught up in their emotions.
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Number two, stopping the avoidance cycle.
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If you've ever been through a traumatic experience, you might be familiar with the rebound effect.
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This is when you try to suppress a thought or avoid a situation, but the thought comes back frequently and more intrusively.
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The rebound effect leads to a behavioral loop where you try harder and harder to avoid the thought or situation and BAM!
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It comes back stronger each time.
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A study by Follett and colleagues suggest that mindfulness is beneficial in trauma therapy
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because it helps clients let go of fear and acknowledge their thoughts instead of suppressing them, which stops the avoidance behavioral loop.
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According to researchers Goodman and Calderon, one technique that is suggested for clients in trauma therapy is repeatedly thinking about an image
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that brings them comfort as they go about their day like your pet
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or the sun Whatever comforts you by continuously focusing on an image that relaxes them in a traumatic scenario
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They can increase feelings of safety and decrease negative arousal number three Hakuna Matata
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Raise your hand if you've ever been insanely anxious while sitting around doing absolutely nothing.
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Oh Wow a lot of us According to a paper published in the Akhomatic Journal Mindfulness,
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practicing mindfulness has been shown to reduce habitual worrying and test anxiety.
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There are two main characteristics of mindfulness, accepting and observing the thought without judgment and redirecting your attention from the thoughts.
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When we practice mindfulness, it can address habitual worrying by stopping thoughts about the past or future, which leaves us in the present.
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James is sitting at his desk about to take an exam.
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He's feeling extremely nervous and has all sorts of anxious thoughts running through his mind.
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What if I fail?
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I won't get a good mark in this course.
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I won't be able to get into the college I want.
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And I'll never be able to have a successful career.
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He notices these thoughts
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and decides to do a mindfulness exercise from psychologist Dr. Lillian Najad called Thoughts as Clouds in the Sky.
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He imagines all his negative thoughts as clouds floating in the sky, just passing by.
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He doesn't react or judge them at all.
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He just observes them and accepts that they are there without believing them or taking them to heart.
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He doesn't try to control or change them.
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He puts a distance between himself and his anxious thoughts instead of trying to identify with them.
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Then, he focuses on his immediate surroundings the desk in front of him, the feeling of his chair against his back, and the sound of his classmates talking.
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After a few moments, James feels relaxed, present, and ready to tackle the exam.
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Could this technique help you in an anxious situation in your life?
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Let us know in the comments.
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Number 4.
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Mindful Relating in Relationships.
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Have you ever had a partner do something that, in your opinion, is weird.
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Sai had a partner that would keep their batteries in the fridge.
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The first time he saw this, Sai was stunned.
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But this was normal to the partner.
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Mindful relating is a technique you can use to form deeper relationships and understand where your partner is coming from.
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To practice, therapist Lee Tremaine recommends that you try to remain focused on the conversation
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and keep bringing your attention back to it when your mind wanders.
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You might notice yourself getting distracted by self-conscious thoughts.
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Do they like me?
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Am I saying the right thing?
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Maybe your attention drifts to all the things on your to-do list for that day.
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Notice when this happens so you can direct all your attention back to the present moment.
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Focus on the person's body language, the emotions they're expressing, and the connection you feel to them.
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The more you practice mindfulness, the better you will get at it, and the more you will benefit.
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It's okay if it's hard at first.
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Do you struggle with staying present?
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How do you practice mindfulness in your own life?
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Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
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If you want to learn more about techniques that improve mental health, don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the like button.
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Thanks for watching!
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Until next time!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Thinking Too Much About The Past? This One Strategy Can Help”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: mindfulness, present, partner, situation, notice. This video has 87 sentences and 1127 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:42. The speaker talks at a natural 168 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mindfulness noun | /ˈmaɪn(d)fʊlnəs/ | Awareness. |
| anxious adjective | /ˈæŋkʃəs/ | Nervous and worried. |
| emotion noun | /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/ | A person's internal state of being and involuntary physiological response to an object or a situation, based on or tied to physical state and sensory data. |
| mindful adjective | /ˈmaɪnd.fl̩/ | aware (of something); attentive, heedful. |
| trauma noun | /ˈtɹɔm.ə/ | Any injury to the body of a living thing. |
| react verb | /ɹiːˈækt/ | To act in response. |
| habitual adjective | /həˈbɪ.t͡ʃʊ.əl/ | Of or relating to a habit; established as a habit; performed over and over again; recurrent, recurring. |
| rewire verb | /ɹiːˈwaɪə(ɹ)/ | To replace or reconnect the wires of a device or installation. |
| rebound noun | /ˈɹi.baʊnd/ | The recoil of an object bouncing off another. |
| avoidance noun | /əˈvɔɪdəns/ | The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of. |
| suppress verb | /səˈpɹɛs/ | To put an end to, especially with force, to crush, do away with; to prohibit, subdue. |
| traumatic adjective | /tɹɔˈmætɪk/ | Of, caused by, or causing trauma. |
| behavioral adjective | /bɪˈheɪvjəɹəl/ | Of or relating to behavior. |
| researcher noun | /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ | One who researches. |
| adapt verb | /əˈdæpt/ | To make suitable; to make to correspond; to fit or suit. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| run through verb | To summarise briefly. | |
| sit around verb | To spend time sitting idly, not doing anything important. | |
| step back verb | /stɛp ˈbæk/ | To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- Sigh, you can't just rewire your brain.
- What if I fail?
- Am I saying the right thing?
- Do you struggle with staying present?
- How do you practice mindfulness in your own life?
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 been · you've ever been · has been shown |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were formed · is suggested · has been shown |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 16 contractions and reduced forms, such as you've, doesn't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: empathetic /ˌɛmpəˈθɛtɪk/, pathway /ˈpæθˌweɪ/, therapist /ˈθɛɹəpɪst/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: anxious /ˈæŋkʃəs/, emotion /ɪˈməʊ.ʃən/, mediation /ˌmiːdiˈeɪʃən/, beneficial /ˌbɛn.ɪˈfɪʃ.əl/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/
- Long words — get the stress right: habitual /həˈbɪ.t͡ʃʊ.əl/, behavioral /bɪˈheɪvjəɹəl/, flexibility /ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪti/, deactivate /ˌdiːˈæktɪveɪt/, empathetic /ˌɛmpəˈθɛtɪk/
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 mindfulness, anxious, emotion.
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.