As we already know by now, words have power, our language is a superpower that enables us to connect, to communicate, to instruct and even influence.
When we are children, we soak up everything around us, we absorb every word we hear and the culture around us. And this, language, can actually be the backbone of our society, the key to the success of our species, but somehow, when we grow up, we lose that playful wonder of learning a language and give into fear. And that becomes very obvious when we have the need to learn a new language being a little bit older. However, if we could only learn how to continue to marvel at every new word, and trying to connect to different people and cultures, we could evolve immensely as human beings. Learning languages can cross cultures and teach us the singularities and privileges (or lack of them) of a country, it can help us get our message across, and even, change the world. At Brisk we already covered the importance of learning a new language to your brain, on a cellular level, but apart from making you healthier and helping you dodge the onset of some brain diseases, it can also make you an excellent communicator and also a better learner. Yes, because if you think about it, you need to fail, consistently and publicly, and eventually get out of your comfort zone to adjust to that discomfort, which is basically the key to all learning. We evolve outside of our comfort zone, and as we do so, we start discovering new worlds – whatever reason got you into learning a new language, whether it was your heritage, some people want to learn Japanese, German or even Italian, because of their descendance here in Brazil; other people want to learn English, or French or Spanish, because of work and that is just opening doors for you to understand the power of words and use them for insight, connection and understand other people. Learning a new language can help you be more empathetic, compassionate, be able to step into another human being’s shoes and make you a global citizen.
So, learning languages is a way to make you a better human, as you become more empathetic, compassionate, and if we think about the state of the world nowadays, kindness and compassion is all we need. The World Happiness Report states the over 220 million children and 1 billion adults suffer from anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders. And it’s crazy to see children among these reports, but it is quite easy to understand: children copy adults, they mimic our moves and they see how busy we are every day, they feel our stress, and watch us struggle to find our own happiness, so they’re only learning how difficult the world is. So how can we change from anxiety to happiness? How can we go back to those times, in our childhood where we wouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes while learning or we wouldn’t have a care in the world? Because children go through stages in life and in most of them, they learn by repetition and example, and from 5 years old they start learning how to share and have a structured idea of collectiveness, meaning they start having fun by playing with other kids and sharing. Giving and sharing starts being natural to children and every time they give, they feel happy. And we have all heard that giving is better than receiving. But have you ever asked yourself why?! Well, researchers from all over the world have been studying the science and psychology of giving and they've discovered that our brains and our bodies are actually hardwired for giving. When we give, our endorphins kick in, and we get this natural high feeling. Our oxytocin levels rise, this would be our love hormone, and it actually acts as a anti-aging remedy.
So, when we give, oxytocin, serotonin (our body’s happy transmitter) kick in and our cortisol levels drop (that’s our stress hormone), reducing our anxiety and stress and making us feel happy on a hormonal level. Haven’t you heard that happiness is in the moment? Well giving is something we could practice at any given time, every single day, and this is how you can be happy. It is actually very simple, make it a goal to give every single day, make a list of things you can share, donate, visit, help with, and pass that knowledge to your friends, co-workers, parents and, especially, your children. Our children are our future, and helping them now, through learning a new language, how to be more compassionate, empathetic and connect with people, or by giving and sharing, that they can pursuit their happiness, we are on our path to change the world. Children already know the power of kindness and giving, they are not judgmental, so let’s start being a little more like them, and let’s start giving, so we can be the change we want to see in the world.
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