The Dip
“The most common response to the Dip is to play it safe. To do ordinary work, blameless work, work that’s beyond reproach. When faced with the Dip, most people suck it up and try to average their way to success.” - Seth Godin
“The Dip” (where, in theory, you might be at right now) is the hardest part. That means it only gets better. Once the initial period of excitement and adrenaline is over, things will start getting difficult, and it’s important to work through it (that is, as long as you actually want to learn Japanese… remember to think of your end goals!). Working through pain sucks, but it’s totally normal and important to know. Here’s the key, though:
There’s a reason why most people don’t make it to intermediate / advanced Japanese… because they can’t take the pain of the dip. It’s not because they’re stupid. It’s not because they didn’t have the ability. Nope, it’s purely because they didn’t work through the pain… The Dip.
This is also the reason why there aren’t many pro snow boarders (and a lot of crappy ones). It’s also the reason why most people can’t cook well, and why people, in general, aren’t really good at most things. It’s never because someone’s too stupid. Smart people train themselves to be smart. They practice being smart. Oh, and they also work through the dip.
That’s why 99% of people don’t make it to an advanced level of Japanese – they just can’t take the dip, and think it’s “too hard.” That being said, you have a choice. You can either keep pushing to get out of the dip, or you can quit now (you shouldn’t do that one).
That leaves us with one more question… why would you even want to get out of “The Dip?”