Anila Niklos, M.Ed., CDP
“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein
What does learning your language better mean to you? How does it make you feel when someone in your circle speaks the same language as you do but it feels as if they are speaking another language? Just because you speak your language doesn’t mean you can possibly learn all the flavors, nuances and meanings your language has to offer. It will take time and of course, dedication.
Yesterday, while meditating (the same meditation) I became aware of the fact that the more I practice and spend time with this 27 minutes guided meditation, the more knowledgeable I grow of the meditation’s script. But, I also realized, I was picking up words that I had crossed paths with in different areas or through the different books I had already read. It enlightened me and it made me reflect further and connect the dots — language dots. As I connected the language dots my mediation transformed into something more than before. The connected dots took my vision to a brighter place and gave new meaning to it, to the order of the script, to the words whispered and to the invitation to be one with God. At that moment, I realized why the meditation’s flow and script included all these other things that I had learned separately and now they all came together. The new meaning built a platform for exponential vision and understanding. Therefore, I couldn’t help myself from teaching you how to dive deep into your language. Let’s call this process the process of learning a sub-language.
“You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.” – Czech proverb
If you are anything like me, you won’t want to live one life. And if you are anything like me, you take pride in your consistent growth. My personal pledge to my growth does not only connect with my business interests, but also with my personal life. There are several generations in my family. Growing and learning will keep me sharp and contemporary. When I am 80 years old I would like to effectively connect, communicate and exchange ideas with my then 32 years old great niece who at the moment can teach me how to create a video. I receive her videos frequently.:)
The following are some of the ways to help you learn new sublanguages.
Make A Commitment To Learn: This is only the first step into your new life. The more we learn, the more we grow: which translates in more freedom from any sort of impediment. As a young child, I was fascinated with movies where heroes placed their fate in their own hands. Each day they learned more and got deeper into concepts and phenomena that were new to them. Once they learned the new concepts and phenomena they implemented their big dreams. A couple of days ago, I revisited an Elon Musk interview and how his dream to space came to fruition. It is fascinating.
There Is No Biological Clock To Learning: Have you ever talked yourself out of learning because you believed you were too old to learn? That your brain couldn’t possibly learn another new thing? Well, I grew up believing that lifelong learning is possible. Maybe this was natural to me since I had amazing role models that had challenged themselves educationally their entire life. One of the old time writers I learned about finished his PHD degree in Arts when he was 60 years old and wrote superlative works that even now, 100 years later, are still fresh and contemporary. Our brains do not go bad after an undergraduate, masters or phd program. We possess the possibility to remain mentally agile and learn new concepts and new tricks despite our age.
Learn New Things: In 2018 I made a pledge to myself to expand my horizons. My career demands had kept me away from my compassionate curiosity and had focused me in one direction only. My career! Therefore, when 2018 began, I made sure and stayed true to that year’s resolution. Because of that, I had the opportunity to take a deep dive in learning about the brain and about our bodies overall. The results were highly impressive. I remember implementing a new morning routine, a new way of living, a new way of working out and a new way of studying. It was easy to follow the new steps, but I studied many hours to get to that level.
Expand Your Interests: Who can deny the power of year 2020 in transformation, reflection and new opportunities? It proved to be an amazing therapy engaging with other people in other areas of professional development. I took a deep dive in learning more about social media, creating accountability partnerships, volunteering and activism. For sure, I stretched myself and I said yes to new things even if I did not know how to do something. YouTube has step by step tutoring videos to help you with your topics or the mechanics you need to use.
Embrace Another Sublanguage: For optimum results in life and business, as we express our desire to expand our interests and learn new things, learning the sublanguage of a particular field of interest is paramount. Learn the sublanguage of nutrition, of health, wealth, investing, parenting, coaching, or writing. Whatever your desire may be, mastering the sublanguage of that particular area will propel you forward.
Reflect on what you have experienced with a new career move. Often, you would find yourself needing to learn the vocabulary that accompanies that particular career move. If you are an engineer you probably use your own vocabulary to effectively communicate amongst one another. You hire a lawyer to help you with all that legal information that you can read in your language but somehow you find it difficult to decipher.
The varied sublanguages of our own language that spread in the different areas of life, professional development, career and growth when excelled create room for success in your life.
Think about this… I have learned several languages in my life and the lessons that come with each new language have served me and people who know me well. I continue to help and support friends, family and divine clients because of my vast background, as well as the languages and sublanguages that I speak. My gift to you is just that — be adventurous and study your own language. Your life will change forever. And if you care a lot, you will change the lives of the people around you also. “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” – Frank Smith