“Solo dilo y no lo pienses,” Ammy, my Spanish teacher, told me.
“Pero, no se las palabras!,” I replied.
Translation: “Just say it without thinking about it.” “But, I do not know the words!”
I hired a Spanish tutor for private lessons when in Mexico and I am also continuing my Pimsleur audio lessons in the car on my way to the office.
But, let me tell you. It’s tough to learn a new language!
And not just tough because I am a middle-aged woman.
It’s tough because I am afraid to say the wrong thing. I want to know what I want to say before the words leave my mouth.
Yes, I suffer from that awful, yet common, affliction known as “perfection paralysis.”
Afraid of “failure,” I freeze and cannot say anything at all.
My sister-in-law who visited us in Mexico last month, who is fluent in Spanish, counseled me to just speak with confidence even if I totally botch the words.
I am reading another Spanish language learning book that encourages “Tarzan Spanish.”
If you’re old like me, you may remember the ole’ “Me Tarzan, You Jane” dialog.
I see this “paralysis” affliction in our office too. Clients postpone their appointments because they are afraid they are going to make “wrong” decisions, or at least not the “perfect” decisions with their estate plans.
There’s a quote on the wall in our office lobby by General Patton that says, “A good plan implemented today is better than a Perfect plan implemented tomorrow.”
I could not agree more.
Now I just need to apply this philosophy to speaking Spanish. A good speaking attempt today is better than a Perfect dialog tomorrow!
Kristen “Aprendiendo Español” Marks
P.S. If you are still on the fence about getting your estate plan in order (or updating it), you should download our free book on Florida estate planning from our website: https://www.mypinklawyer.com/get-free-book