The Struggle.
I have an inkling that I have a tad bit of dyslexia and/or dyspraxia. (Dyspraxia has to do with motor skills, and includes language learning.) I'm self diagnosing but it makes a lot of sense to me. I imagine that my life would have been much different if my family and teachers knew this about me and were able to support me in learning how to learn. I recall giving speeches where I would skip the introduction, so my presentation wouldn't make sense. I wasn't able to memorize passages, so I did poorly on tests and oral exams. I was always last in physical education classes. Last chosen, last to come in on a run, and last to understand a particular movement pattern.
The Discomfort.
The things that I was heckled for in my teenage and young adulthood haunted me until recently. And in all honesty, the hauntings continue to be an ongoing struggle.
In high school, I took 5 years of French classes and I never came close to fluency. If you've known me for a while, you know that I have spent a lot of time, money, and effort to study German and now I'm doing the same with Spanish. All 3 of these languages are now jumbled in my head. My frustration has ranged from mild to severe. Why can't I speak fluently by now? Who am I comparing myself to? How is it that some days are good and some days are not?
The Overcoming.
The overcoming has to do with awareness and grace. Once aware, I can create some space. When there is space for imperfections and being human, that's when I can start experimenting. I adore the concept of an experiment. A proper experiment begins with a hypothesis and no attachment to a certain outcome. Once I try something, I can remind myself to be detached enough to evaluate what worked and what didn't. I can tweak my theory and run another test.
Here are some things I now know about myself: I favor bullet points. I excel at tactile projects, bigger concept ideas, and the long game. I can listen to a podcast or youtube to help my brain switch, before language learning (This is what James Clear refers to as a "habit stack".). When my nervous system is hyper, I can literally shake my body and limbs and thus move the energy out. When I practice a physical movement (salsa dancing or muay thai, for example) it takes me about 4 times longer than the average person...but I can eventually learn the movement.
Some superpowers I have due to my different way of learning, are that I can more easily see the big picture, I excel at creative problem solving, I am more connected to my intuition, and I have an awareness for shapes and spaces that others don't.
Like I said, this is an ongoing obstacle. I will keep looking for workarounds, as it's important to me to keep my brain active and also to be able to speak a bit of the language when I spend time in other cultures.
We are all unique and I believe that it's important to celebrate that.
In what ways are you unique? What are you struggling with right now? What do you do to overcome?
Do you want to try a coaching session with me? Let's meet to see if it's a good match!
May we continuously learn about ourselves and become aware of our own uniqueness. May we extend grace to ourselves and in turn, enjoy this journey.
From my heart to yours,
Teresa.
