Be Careful Learning Finnish; This Language Will Always Fight For You
Are there hidden forces when learning a language?
I vividly remember my 2nd and 3rd online Finnish speaking lessons from my dingy Mexican hotel in September 2021. I had barely slept each time in the Yucatán weather, which was always 90 degrees (32 C) and full humidity.
Each time, I was starting my progress over again. For the life of me, I couldn’t absorb the new information. My Finnish teacher was kind and patient, and there wasn’t even the faintest glint of disappointment in her eyes. This was the same Finnish teacher I wrote about previously:
My Finnish Teacher ‘Taught’ Me More Architecture Than My Boss
Looking back, my lack of progress was due to my comfort-seeking behaviors. I had been in Mexico for 3 months but stopped making an effort to improve my Spanish. I was satisfied with my “restaurant ordering proficiency” Spanish and stopped putting myself in new and challenging situations.
With my remote freelance work, I sent out proposals on freelance platforms rather than cold-emailing potential clients directly. Your next best client isn’t someone who advertises on freelance platforms. The best clients wait a long time for the right person to come into their lives before making that move…