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Welcome to Your English Toolbox, your Slow EnglishPodcast where we train your ears step by step.
I am Julia.
And I am Martin.
Martin, what are we going to talk about today?
Today we are going to explore the power of tinychanges.
We are going to look at the book Atomic Habits byJames Clear,
and we will see how small actions can completelytransform your English learning.
If you stay with us until the end, you willunderstand why you often fail to reach your goals.
You will learn how to build a system that worksautomatically.
And you will discover how to stop fighting againstyour own brain.
Part 2. The Problem with Goals
Let's start with a hard truth. Most of us approachEnglish the wrong way.
We definitely do.
We set massive goals. We say,
I will become fluent this year, or I will studygrammar for two hours every Saturday.
It sounds very ambitious. It feels good to say it.
But what happens in reality?
Reality hits us. We do it for one week, maybe two.
Then we get tired, we miss one day, we feelguilty, and eventually we quit.
Exactly.
James Clear calls this the problem of goals.
He says you do not rise to the level of yourgoals.
You fall to the level of your systems.
That is a powerful sentence.
Can we break it down? What does he mean bysystems?
Think about a messy room.
If your goal is to clean the room, you motivateyourself.
You clean it for three hours. Now you have a cleanroom.
But if you don't change your habits, the room willbe messy again in three days.
Precisely. You treated the symptom, not the cause.
In English, it is the same. If you study hard forone exam,
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you might pass. But you haven't become a fluentspeaker.
You have just memorized information for a moment.
So we need to stop thinking about the finish line.
We need to think about the daily process.
Part 3. The 1% Rule
There is a concept in the book called the 1% rule.
It is my favorite part. It is simple math, but itis magic.
If you get 1% better each day for one year, youwill end up 37 times better.
37 times?
Yes, it is compound interest. But if you get 1%worse each day, you go down to nearly zero.
The problem is that 1% is invisible. If I learnone new word today, I don't feel fluent.
If I listen to this podcast for 10 minutes, myaccent doesn't change immediately.
That is why it is so hard. We want immediateresults.
We go to the gym and we look in the mirror. We seeno muscles, so we quit.
But English is a long game. It is not a sprint.
It is a marathon. Actually, I think it is not evena marathon.
It is a lifestyle. Your results are a laggingmeasure of your habits.
That sounds technical. What is a lagging measure?
It means your reality today is the result of whatyou did six months ago.
Your weight is a lagging measure of your eatinghabits.
Your English knowledge is a lagging measure ofyour listening habits.
So we need to ignore the current result. We needto trust the process.
Yes, do not worry about being fluent. Worry aboutbeing consistent.
Part 4. Identity Change
This leads us to the deepest part of the book.
Changing your identity. This is crucial for ourlisteners.
Imagine two people who are trying to quit smoking.You offer them a cigarette.
The first person says, no thanks, I am trying toquit.
That sounds like a good answer.
It sounds good, but it implies they are still asmoker who is making a sacrifice.
Now imagine the second person. They say, nothanks, I am not a smoker.
Oh, I see the difference. It is a small shift inwords.
06:05
But a huge shift in mindset.
Exactly. One is fighting against themselves. Theother is simply stating a fact.
How do our listeners usually talk aboutthemselves?
They say, I am a student. Or, I am trying to learnEnglish.
Or even worse, I am bad at languages.
We need to delete those sentences. You need tostart saying, I am an English speaker.
Even if you make mistakes?
Especially if you make mistakes.
An English speaker is simply someone who usesEnglish to communicate.
If you listen to this podcast, you are doing it.You are an English speaker.
It feels scary to claim that identity.
It feels like we are lying.
It is not a lie. Every time you practice, you casta vote for that identity.
You are proving it to yourself.
The goal is not to read a book.
The goal is to become a reader.
The goal is not to pass an exam.
The goal is to become a learner.
Your money should be too.
Some providers promise no fees on overseastransfers,
but extra costs often hide in bloated exchangerates.
Choose WISE. You can send money overseas foreducation,
or spend in over 40 currencies while traveling.
Get the exchange rate that you'd usually see onGoogle.
Plus, count on 24-7 customer support.
Be smart. Get WISE. Visit WISE.com. T's and C'sapply.
Part 5. Habit Stacking
Now, let's get practical. How do we actually buildthese new habits?
James Clear suggests a technique called habitstacking.
The formula is very simple.
After I do current habit, I will do new habit.
This works because you use your existing neuralnetworks.
You already have strong habits.
You brush your teeth. You make coffee. You sit onthe sofa.
We do these things without thinking.
Exactly. So, we attach the new English habit tothe old one.
Can you give us an example?
Sure. Instead of saying,
I will listen to English today, be specific.
Say, after I pour my morning coffee, I will pressplay on the podcast.
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I like that.
The coffee is the trigger.
Or, after I get into my car, I will repeat onesentence aloud.
Or, after I brush my teeth at night, I will readone page of an English book.
The key is specificity.
Most people fail because their intention is toovague.
They wait for the right time.
But the right time never comes. You have to designit.
Part 6. Environment Design
Another powerful concept is environment design.
This means changing your physical space to makethe habit easier.
Motivation is overrated. Environment isunderrated.
If you want to eat more fruit, put a bowl ofapples on the table.
If you hide them in the fridge, you will forgetthem.
So, if I want to read in English...
Put the book on your pillow. When you go to bed,you cannot ignore it.
If I want to listen more...
Put your headphones on top of your keys. Make thecue obvious.
We are visual creatures. If the cue is invisible,the habit will not happen.
It sounds almost too simple.
We think learning a language requires complexsuffering.
That is a limiting belief. We think it must behard to be valuable.
But James Clear says, make it easy.
Reduce the friction. If you have to search foryour book,
search for your pen, and find your glasses, youhave too much friction.
You will probably give up before you start.
So, prepare everything the night before.
Yes, make the path of least resistance the path oflearning.
Part 7. The Two-Minute Rule
This brings us to the final rule.
The Two-Minute Rule
This is the best rule for lazy days.
And we all have lazy days.
The rule states, when you start a new habit, itshould take less than two minutes to do.
Wait, two minutes of English? Is that enough?
The point is not the duration. The point is theshowing up.
You need to master the art of showing up.
A habit must be established before it can beimproved.
So, if I want to read, I just read one page?
Just one page, or even one paragraph.
If you want to study vocabulary, just review onecard.
It feels like cheating.
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It is not cheating. It is psychology.
Once you start, it is much easier to continue.
The hardest part is the first two minutes.
It is the inertia.
Exactly. You are breaking the static energy.
And even if you stop after two minutes, you didsomething.
You kept the identity alive.
You were the person who showed up.
That is better than the person who planned tostudy for an hour and did nothing.
Much better. A zero day destroys your confidence.
A two-minute day keeps your momentum.
Part 8. Conclusion
So, friends, let's recap.
We don't need massive goals. We need tiny systems.
We don't focus on the result. We focus on theidentity.
You are not learning English.
You are an English speaker.
Use habit stacking.
Connect English to your coffee, your car, or yourtoothbrush.
Design your environment. Make it obvious.
And use the two-minute rule.
Make it so easy that you cannot say no.
English is not a mountain you climb once.
It is a garden you water every day.
Some days you water it a lot.
Some days just a little. But you never let it dryout.
I feel much calmer thinking about it this way.
The pressure is gone.
That is the point. When the fear goes away, thelearning begins.
You are capable of this. You are already doing itright now.
Part 9. Farewell
If you enjoyed this episode, please write a smallcomment before you go.
Your comments show the platforms that ourcommunity is real, active, and growing.
This support is crucial for us to continuecreating new episodes every week.
Tell us, what is one tiny, atomic habit you willstart today?
Will you listen while you cook?
Will you read before you sleep?
We need your comments because your voice is moreimportant than ours.
Your voice and comments will show us the rightpath.
Thank you for listening.
See you in the next episode.