M E M B E R S O N LY

2015

AU G U ST
08
REVIEWING HOW FAR YOU’VE
COME AND THE LAW OF
INCREASING MOTIVATION
 Welcome back to the Inner Circle,
listeners.

Last time, you learned about the

enemy of language learning –
analysis paralysis. You learned why
this happens to most learners –
especially perfectionists – and the
top 5 tactics to beat it.

This time, we’re talking about

It’s important to review

reviewing how far you’ve come and
the law of increasing motivation. As
in, why it’s important to review your

how far you’ve come...

progress thus far.

You’ll also learn how to increase

your motivation and success over
time. And, if you’ve been failing
your goals... how you can jump back
on track.

In this Inner Circle Lesson, you

will learn...
Why it’s important to take a
look at how far you’ve come

How to increase your motivation

and success over time

What to do if you haven’t been

hitting your language goals
This is it, listeners.
The year’s more than half-way done.
AND AS PROMISED LAST TIME, I SAT DOWN TO REVIEW MY LANGUAGE LEARNING PROGRESS FOR THIS YEAR.

Last time, I also promised 17 minutes of Spanish
conversation. I’m now at 20.
What did I do differently this month? Well, it’s not what
I did differently. It’s more what has happened this past
year. This is where the mid-year review comes in.
And while it sounds like I’ve made decent progress,
I also had a HORRIBLE start to Spanish. I failed 2
months in a row. But, reflecting on past progress is
crucial for future progress.
Why? Let’s get into the first point.
 1
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO TAKE A
LOOK AT HOW FAR YOU’VE COME

Listeners, how far along are you with your goals? Take a
look at your month-by-month results. How many of Spanish Conversation Progress for 2015.
your goals did you miss? How many did you hit? Yearly Goal: 30 Minutes.

Thus far, I’ve hit 6 out of 8 months of 2015. If you want

January – Failed February – Failed March – 3 minutes
to see my yearly review and the cold, hard stats, here
they are:
April – 7 minutes May – 10 minutes June – 13 minutes

August – Next: September –

July – 15 minutes
20 minutes 23 minutes

December. Final
October – ? November – ?
Goal – 30 minutes
 SO, WHY IS KNOWING THIS SO IMPORTANT?

First and foremost, it’s a

A
huge accomplishment.
“It’s not that I’
There are tons of people who want to learn a language, m so smart,
it’s just that I
but never get around to it. Or, they quit at the first sign stay
with problems
of difficulty. Whether you hit or fail your goals, the fact longer.”
that you’ve persisted is the most important thing. Albert Einstein

Progress is based on the amount of time you put in. So

sticking with it longer guarantees that you’ll get better.
 B You can see which methods work and which don’t.

Last time, we talked about beating Analysis Paralysis
and spotting methods that don’t help your overall goal.
Like focusing on details and perfection. Or focusing
on pronunciation when your REAL goal is simply to
speak more.
Listeners, if you’ve missed a monthly goal, look at the
learning routines for that month. When I failed my
January goal, I can now look back and see why. I set
some unrealistic objectives and life got in the way. Getting
to 3 minutes of Spanish, writing a 1 page introduction and
shopping around for a Spanish tutor proved to be too
much. Moving to a new place, all the headaches involved
with moving, and getting used to new routines and
commutes stopped me dead in my tracks.
And if you’ve been hitting your goals, take a look at
what you’ve been doing. Chances are, you’ll want
to maintain that routine. So far, I think most of my
methods have been working for me.
Well, except one. It’s not a method. It’s more of a
bad habit.
It’s not starting Spanish earlier. Those two failed months.
I could’ve made so much more progress if I started my
lessons earlier and if I had started with an easier goal.
Again, that’s a lesson learned for the future.

So, I cut that down to 1 minute and a 1 paragraph

introduction. And I ended up hitting and surpassing that
goal in March.

The lesson I learned? Scale down on goals when life

gets busy.
 C Looking back at your progress is very motivating.

By now, you already know that motivation is like good The Dashboard:
weather. It comes and goes. So, getting a chance to You can also track your progress with our Dashboard
boost your motivation is an always welcome approach. on the website. You can see how many series and
You’ll find out just how motivating this is in the second lessons you’ve completed thus far. Also, with the
point, which is coming up next. recent “My Report” feature, you can also see how
much time you’ve studied on the site. And it tracks
Here’s how you can track your progress: how many flashcards you’ve studied. That way, you
can easily say “I put in 70 days, 12 hours, and 23
The Mid-Year Progress Report: minutes of study time” this year.
At the end of PDF, I’ve included a sample Mid-Year To do:
Progress Report, which is very similar to mine. Print it Visit the Dashboard for all your stats or “My
and fill it out. There’s also space for you to write down Account > Report” for a detailed breakdown of the
methods that were effective and ineffective. time spent, lessons completed, and flashcards
To do: studied on a month-by-month basis.
Print and fill out the Mid-Year Progress Report.
Now, back to motivation. Yes, it can come and go, but did
you know you can grow and maintain it over time?

I’ll explain how.

Let’s get into the second point of this Inner Circle.


HOW TO INCREASE YOUR MOTIVATION
AND SUCCESS OVER TIME.
Listeners, the reason I said I wanted to
start Spanish earlier is that I would've
been at my 30-minute goal by now.
At the moment, I’m super motivated to
get even better. It’s how I hit my 20
minutes this month. And I’m super
motivated because of my 6-month streak
of hitting my goals.
Where did this motivation come from?
If you know the law of diminishing
returns – where the value or benefit of
something goes down over time – well,
there’s also a law of increasing returns. I
like to call it... the Law of Increasing
Motivation.
2
Let me give you an example. If that doesn’t make sense... I’ll share my
Say you have a talented sports player. own personal story. If you remember my
He’s very good. He’s seen himself first attempts at Spanish back in January
grow. And now, he wants to win the and February, my motivation was super
championship. That’s his new goal. low. I'd put it at about a 0.
So, because he’s been on a hot streak, By April, it was about a 5. I was hitting
he’s motivated to do even better. He’s goals. I was getting better. But not enough
so motivated that he’ll join another for me to allocate time to it every day.
team for LESS money... just to have a
shot at the championship. Now, doing
something for less money doesn’t
make sense for most people. But he’s
won some games before. And now
he’s even more motivated.
Given his past success, his future
success has more priority.
Now, I can have a conversation in Spanish ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

for 20 minutes and this language has

risen on my priority list. It’s one of the 10
most important things in my daily routine. This language has risen on
my priority list. It’s one of
Why did it grow? Spanish is much more
important to me now than it was in April.
It’s because I hit my goals. I’ve

the 10 most important

experienced some success. I’ve seen the
results. I want more. And so, as a result,
my motivation grew

The more honest answer is: it’s time.

Because I’ve spent so much time on it things in my daily routine.
and improved, I’m even more confident
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
and motivated.

That’s why this section is called “How to

increase your motivation and success
over time.”

Now, what if you aren’t hitting your

goals and the year’s half over? Is it the
end of the world?

Let’s get into the third point.

 3
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN HITTING
YOUR GOALS THIS PAST YEAR.

Here’s an email we got a few weeks ago from an Inner
Circle Member:
“Hi Peter, Thank you for that analysis paralysis episode.
I wanted to ask a question about getting back on track.
I started January strong this year. I’m learning Japanese
and like you, am focusing on conversation. I was up to
5 minutes in February. But, I’ve gotten sidetracked with
work. I failed my goals from March to June. What’s a
good way to get back? Thanks again. Donny”
Is failing your language goal the end of the world?
No.
Remember, any amount of time spent on language is
time invested in bettering yourself. You can’t look at it
like “I failed” or “I didn't reach my goal.”
Look at it as... because you studied in January and
February... and you take the year as a whole... your
knowledge, as a whole, is greater than the previous year.
There are two ways of looking at it:
You didn’t succeed
You’re closer to the goal than last year
The first one doesn’t help you at all. The last one is a very
positive way of looking at it and is undeniably true. That’s
how you should look at it.
If you’re failing your language learning goals, take the
way I progressed – my 6 month streak and keeping at it
over time – and apply it to your daily schedule.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1. Set a small, monthly goal with a
deadline to start again. That’s right.

The more consistent you’ve been, There’s a reason you see this again
and again. Aim a little lower to

the more you’ll achieve in the future. make it easier for yourself to hit
your goals.

I wasn’t as motivated in my 2nd month. 2. Next: try to study your language

7 days in a row. 10 minutes, 30
minutes or 1 hour. Choose one.

But in my 8th month, and with enough Time duration is not important yet.
Try to hit all 7 days with the same

success, I’m extremely motivated to keep time duration.

going. Here’s how you do it... 3. As you hit the 7th day and the 8th
day, the priority of improving your
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• language gets higher than it was on
the first day. So, the longer you
do it, the better it is.

4. Keep at it.

MBER
SEPTE

ARY
FE BR U
On the next page, you’ll find a sample
Mid-Year Review sheet. Print it out and fill
it out to track your progress. Be sure to list
down ineffective learning methods for
your failed months – you’ll want to stop
doing these. And, list down effective
learning methods for your successful
months – you’ll want to keep doing these.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Do you regularly keep

Don’t forget to visit the Dashboard on the
site for all your study stats. Find how much
time you’ve put in, how many lessons

track of your progress?

you’ve finished and flashcards you’ve
mastered. Inside your My Account page, in
My Reports, you’ll find a detailed month-
by-month breakdown of your study stats.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
What’s your monthly goal? Be sure to set
it and stick to it. Finally, let me know – how WHAT DID YOU GET STUCK ON? EMAIL ME AT:
has this year worked out for you so far? Do INNER.CIRCLE@INNOVATIVELANGUAGE.COM
you regularly keep track of your progress?
Why or why not? How do you grow your
motivation?

Shoot me an email at
inner.circle@innovativelanguage.com

To your fluency,
Peter Galante
Founder, InnovativeLanguage.com
 YOUR MID-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT

PRINT THIS OUT AND FILL IT OUT TO SEE HOW FAR YOU’VE COME.

Progress Report for 2015. Yearly Goal:

January: February: March: April: May: June:

July: August: September: October: November: December:

For Failed Months, List Down Reasons & Ineffective For Successful Months, List Down Effective Learning
Learning Methods. Cut these out of your future routines. Methods. Keep these going.

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.