English Podcast For Easy English Conversation | The Power Of Positivity | Learn English Fast

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>> from Speak English with Claus. [music]

Hey, hey, English learners. Welcome back

to the English Leap Podcast, your cozy

place to learn easy English through real

life conversations. I'm Anna.

>> And I'm Jake. How are you doing today,

Anna?

>> I'm good, thank you. A little tired,

though. I had a busy weekend. I went out

with some friends and we stayed up way

too late. [laughter] What about you?

Oh, I know that feeling. My weekend was

the opposite. Very quiet. I stayed home,

cooked a little, read a book. It felt

nice to slow down.

>> That actually sounds amazing. Sometimes

those quiet weekends are the best.

>> Yeah, especially Sunday. Do you know

that feeling? Sunday afternoon, it's

calm, but your brain is already

whispering, "M, tomorrow is Monday."

[laughter]

>> Yes. Your body's on the sofa, but your

mind is already at work in traffic

answering emails,

>> right? So, if you're listening on a

Sunday, maybe you're feeling cozy, but

also a bit nervous about Monday.

>> And if it's already Monday for you,

maybe you're on the bus, walking to

school, or washing dishes after work,

then you are in the new week already.

>> So, the question is, what do we really

need for Monday? Hm. Do we need more

stress, more pressure, more I'm not good

enough?

>> No. We need some positive vibes. We need

thoughts that give us energy, not steal

it.

>> Exactly. And that's why today we're

talking about the power of positivity.

The power that feels like the soul of a

happier life.

>> And don't worry, this is a B1 level

episode. So, if you're intermediate,

it's perfect for you.

>> Yes, B1 level. And if you're A2, you can

still listen. If some parts feel

difficult, it's okay. You can always

listen again and you will catch more the

second time,

>> right? You can listen while you cook,

clean, walk, or sit with a cup of tea.

The idea is simple. Real English, real

feelings, real life.

>> So, who is this episode for? It's for

you if you feel worried a lot, if your

mind is always busy, or if you want to

feel a little bit lighter and more

hopeful.

>> Yes, it's also for you if you want to

practice daily life English talking

about feelings, thoughts, stress,

happiness in clear, natural English.

>> All right, before we go deeper, a small

request. Yeah, if you enjoy learning

with us, please like this episode,

subscribe to the channel, and maybe

share it with one friend who is learning

English, too.

>> Every like, every comment, every share

really helps more learners find this

podcast.

>> And we love reading your comments.

>> In fact, maybe you can already answer a

simple question in the comments. Where

are you listening from and what are you

doing right now?

>> I love those. I'm in Brazil washing

dishes. I'm in Turkey on the bus. I'm in

India studying before bed. It feels like

one big cozy global classroom.

>> Yes, exactly. So, write your country and

what you're doing. Just one short

sentence is perfect.

>> And later in this episode, we'll also

have a calm word tour.

>> In word tour, we'll take a few useful

words and phrases from today. So you

don't only hear the words, you really

understand them and you can start using

them in your own life.

>> All right. So Sundays, Mondays, stress,

hope, positivity. Let's talk about how

our thoughts can make our days heavier

or lighter.

>> Yeah. Let's see how small positive

habits can slowly change the way you

feel.

>> H All right, let's jump in.

>> Yeah. Let's start with something simple

but also hard.

>> H simple but hard. I like that. So,

first idea for today, your happiness

switch is inside you.

>> Right? Not inside your job, not inside

your phone, not inside other people,

inside you.

>> And I don't say that like, oh, just be

happy. It's easy. No, I also have days

when my brain is like a little cloud of

rain.

Same. My brain sometimes wakes up and

says, "Good morning. Let's think about

everything that is wrong." [laughter]

>> Yes. You know those mornings you open

your eyes and immediately you dwell on

all the problems. The bill you have to

pay, the email you didn't answer, the

mistake you made last week.

>> Dwell on means you sit on a thought for

a long time. You stay there. You replay

it again and again.

>> Yeah. And when we dwell on negative

thoughts, we start to feel more and more

weighed down, like we're carrying a

heavy backpack on our chest.

>> Actually, that happened to me last

month. I woke up one day and everything

felt gray. Nothing was wrong, but my

outlook was very negative.

>> Outlook means the way you look at life,

right?

>> Exactly. Same room, same job, same

coffee, but my outlook was this is all

useless. I'm failing. Everyone else is

doing better.

>> I know that voice.

>> And I noticed something. I wasn't just

listening to that voice. I was feeding

it. I opened my phone and started

reading bad news, negative comments,

scary posts.

>> Right. It's like your mind is already

sad and then you give it more sad food.

>> Yes. Sad breakfast for the brain.

>> So, what did you do?

>> At first, nothing. I stayed in bed and

just scrolled and I felt worse. Then I

remembered something. I can't always

change my mood, but I can change my next

5 minutes.

>> I like that. I can't change everything,

but I can change my next 5 minutes.

>> So, I decided to shortcircuit the

negative thoughts.

>> Shortcircuit, huh?

>> Yeah. Normally, short circuit is for

electricity. Here, it means you

interrupt a bad pattern. You stop the

usual road of your thoughts.

>> So instead of letting your mind go

deeper and deeper into the dark tunnel,

you change the direction.

>> Exactly. I put my phone down, got up,

opened the window, and played one happy

song. Just one.

>> Nice.

>> Then I made a simple breakfast and went

for a 10-minute walk. That's it. No big

life change, just 10 minutes. But it

felt like I pressed a small reset button

in my head. So, your life didn't

suddenly become perfect, but your energy

changed a little.

>> Yeah, my problems were still there, but

I didn't feel so heavy. It was like I

took off one small stone from my

backpack.

>> I love that image. A lot of us wait for

big happiness. New job, big house, big

love story. But real inner happiness

often starts with a very small thing.

Open the window, drink water, listen to

music, send a kind message. M it's like

your mind is a garden.

>> Yeah.

>> If you don't choose what to plant there,

weeds will grow by themselves. Negative

news, old memories, other people's

drama, those are like wild weeds.

>> But when you choose even one small good

seed like gratitude or a kind thought or

a short walk, you are starting a

different garden.

>> And that doesn't mean you must be

positive all the time. That's

impossible,

>> right? You are human. You can cry. You

can be tired. You can feel sad.

>> But even on a sad day, you still have

this tiny switch. What is one small

thing I can do now that is a little bit

kind to myself?

>> Maybe that one small thing is opening

your window and feeling the air, looking

at the sky for a minute, making tea and

taking three slow breaths, listening to

a song that gives you hope,

>> or writing one sentence in your

notebook. Today I am grateful for and

finish it.

>> See, you don't change your whole life in

that moment. You change the direction of

your thoughts.

>> And when you repeat that day after day,

your brain slowly learns a new habit, a

happiness habit.

>> So first idea, your happiness is not

only about what happens to you. A big

part is how you respond. The little

choices you make when your mind wants to

stay in the dark. And the good news is

you can practice that one tiny seed at a

time.

>> Okay, so we talked about how happiness

can start inside with small choices and

small seeds.

>> Yeah, but what about the opposite? When

your brain is just tired from worrying

all the time.

>> Let's talk about that next. When worry

makes your mind feel heavy and what you

can actually do about it. Right? That

heavy feeling like your thoughts are

running in circles.

>> I had a season like that. Every night my

brain was busy with what if thoughts.

>> What if I lose my job? What if I fail

this exam? What if people don't like me?

>> Exactly. I was trying to sleep, but my

mind was wide awake. And the funny thing

is, most of the things I worried about

were things I could not control.

>> Yeah. Same here. My brain loves to worry

about the weather, the news, the

economy, and strangers on the internet.

>> The full package.

>> One night, I was lying in bed and I

realized I feel like I'm trying to

control the whole world from my pillow.

>> Oh, that's such a good picture.

>> I was spiraling a little.

>> Spiraling? You mean your thoughts were

going down and down, getting worse?

>> Yeah. Like a small worry becomes a big

story in your head. H I think a lot of

people listening know that feeling.

>> So I tried something simple. I took a

notebook and I drew two circles.

>> Two circles.

>> Yeah. In the first circle I wrote things

I can control. In the second things I

can't control.

>> Nice.

>> So can control was what I eat tomorrow,

how many hours I sleep if I put my phone

away, what message I send to my friend,

how many minutes I study. and can't

control

>> the past, other people's opinions, the

world news, my old mistakes, the

weather.

>> M when you see it on paper, it becomes

clearer, right?

>> Completely. I saw that 90% of my anxiety

was in the can't control circle.

>> So, your brain was working hard but not

helping you.

>> Exactly. It was like my mind was trying

to keep my head above water in a sea

that doesn't belong to me. Keep your

head above water is that feeling when

you're just trying to survive. Not

happy, not relaxed, just trying not to

drown.

>> Yeah. And I didn't want to live like

that every day. So, I made a little rule

for myself.

>> What rule?

>> If something is in the can't control

circle, I'm allowed to notice it, but

I'm not allowed to stay there for an

hour.

>> I love that.

>> Instead, I choose one small thing from

the can control circle and do it. Send

one honest message. Drink water. Go for

a walk. Pray. Breathe. Sit in silence

for five minutes.

>> It's like moving your brain from a noisy

street into a quiet park.

>> Yes. And for me, that quiet park is

sometimes just sitting on the floor with

my back against the wall, closing my

eyes and imagining a peaceful place.

>> Beach, forest, mountains.

>> Usually a beach. I imagine the sound of

the waves, the feeling of warm sand, the

sun on my face.

>> That's nice.

>> I breathe slowly and tell myself, "Right

now, I don't have to fix my whole life.

I only have to breathe."

>> So, this second idea is your brain gets

tired when it worries about everything

you can't control. When you move your

attention to one small thing you can

control, your mind can finally rest a

little. And that rest, that small calm

moment is also positivity. It's not

loud, but it's very powerful.

>> Okay. So, we have inner happiness as

small seeds. And we have less worry when

we focus on what we can actually do.

>> Yeah. And now let's talk about something

that scares many people. Goals.

>> Yes. Goals can give us hope, but they

can also make us stressed. Let's

untangle that. So Anna, have you ever

felt like your goals were attacking you?

>> Attacking me? Yes. Many times.

>> Like instead of feeling inspired, you

feel guilty because you're not there

yet.

>> Exactly. A few years ago, I remember one

season where I felt very lost with work

and money.

>> I was working, but I wasn't happy with

my job. I didn't know what I wanted

next. And at night, my brain was full of

I should

>> I should earn more. I should be more

successful. I should already have

everything figured out.

>> Yes. And I was also on social media

seeing people my age buying houses,

traveling, starting businesses.

>> The classic everyone is doing better

than me feeling.

>> Exactly. The grass is greener feeling.

>> The grass isn't always greener is a nice

idiom. It means other people's lives

look better, but you don't see their

problems.

>> Right? But at that time, I forgot that.

I only saw the green grass. My own life

felt like dry ground.

>> That's really honest.

>> One night, I couldn't sleep again. My

heart was beating fast and I asked

myself, "Okay, what am I actually afraid

of?"

>> Good question.

>> The answer was, "I'm afraid my life will

stay like this forever. Same job, same

stress, same money problems."

>> M, that's a scary thought.

>> Yeah. And then another question came. If

I don't want this, what small change can

I make? Not big, not dramatic, just one

step.

>> And what did you do?

>> I took a piece of paper and wrote three

very simple goals. One for my health,

one for my work, and one for my heart.

>> I like this already.

>> Health goal, walk 20 minutes every day

after dinner. Work goal, spend 20

minutes a day learning something new for

my future job. Heart goal. Send one

message a day to someone I care about.

>> That's so beautiful.

>> It was small, but when I looked at the

paper, I felt lighter

>> because now your brain had a direction.

>> Yes. Before my mind was just stuck in a

rut.

>> Stuck in a rut means doing the same

thing again and again, feeling bored and

trapped.

>> Exactly. Every day was the same. Worry,

scroll, compare, sleep badly. But with

these three small goals, my brain had

something new to focus on.

>> It's like driving at night in heavy fog.

If you don't have headlights, you feel

lost. Goals are like turning on your

headlights.

>> You still can't see the whole road, but

you can see the next few meters.

>> And the next few meters are enough to

move forward.

>> Exactly. After some weeks, I noticed

small changes. My walks helped my mood.

My 20 minute study time helped my

confidence. My messages helped my

relationships.

>> So your life didn't magically become

perfect, but you started to bounce back.

>> Bounce back means recover slowly after

something difficult, right?

>> Yeah. Like a ball that hits the ground

and comes up again.

>> And I want to say this clearly. You

don't need big goals to feel better. You

need clear and kind goals.

>> M clear and kind. I love that. Clear so

your brain knows what to do. Kind so you

don't hurt yourself with pressure.

>> So this third idea is your brain needs

hope not just worry. Small realistic

goals can be like little lights on your

path.

>> And sometimes even with good goals, life

still hurts. Things go wrong. People

leave. Plans break.

>> Yeah. And that's where our last idea

comes in. What to do with problems and

pain when you still want to move

forward. So Jake, have you ever had a

moment where your heart felt really

heavy?

>> Yeah. A few years ago, I went through a

breakup that hit me hard.

>> H

>> It wasn't a big drama outside. No big

fight, but inside it felt like someone

switched off the color in my life.

>> I'm sorry.

>> Thank you. For some weeks, I didn't want

to do anything. I just wanted to lie in

bed, listen to sad songs, and brood over

everything. Brood means you think about

the same sad thing again and again and

you stay inside that sadness.

>> Exactly. I replayed every conversation

in my mind. What if I said this? What if

I did that?

>> Our brain loves that game.

>> But after a while, I noticed something.

The more I stayed in bed, the heavier I

felt. It was like wearing wet clothes

all day.

>> That's such a clear picture.

>> One day, a friend called me and said,

"Look, you can be sad. Of course, but

you also have to move. You don't have to

run, just walk.

>> Good friend.

>> He invited me to meet him for coffee and

a walk. I didn't want to go, but I went.

And that walk didn't fix my heart, but

it helped me breathe.

>> And I learned something from that time.

When you have heartache or a big

problem, you can't just think your way

out. You have to live your way through

it.

>> Live your way through it, not just think

your way through it.

>> Yeah. small actions, normal routine. Go

back to simple things. Shower, eat,

move, talk to one safe person.

>> So, if you're going through a painful

season right now, maybe a breakup, a

loss, a big disappointment. It's okay to

feel sad. It's okay to cry,

>> but try not to live inside the pain 24

hours a day.

>> You can imagine the pain like a heavy

backpack. You do have to carry it for

some time, but you don't have to sit on

the floor and stop your life.

>> You can walk slowly with it, and with

time it becomes a little lighter.

>> And about problems in general, not just

heartache, there's one simple practice I

like.

>> Tell us.

>> When something is really confusing, I

take a piece of paper and I write the

problem is, and I finish that sentence

in one simple line.

>> Right. Not 20 lines, just one clear

sentence. Exactly. For example, the

problem is I feel alone in this city or

the problem is I don't know how to pay

this bill.

>> And then what?

>> Then I write three small things I can

try. Not big magic, just three ideas.

>> For example,

>> for feeling alone, join one online

English group this week. Send a message

to one old friend and ask, "Can we talk

this weekend?" go to one public place, a

park, a cafe with a book or podcast, so

I'm not alone at home all day.

>> That's really good.

>> And I tell myself, I don't need to solve

everything today. I just need to try one

of these this week.

>> So, you move from I have a problem to

I'm working through this problem.

>> Yes, work through is a nice phrase. It

means you slowly process something

difficult step by step instead of hiding

from it. And that's also positivity, not

fake smiles, but quiet courage.

>> I love that quiet courage.

>> So this last idea is problems and pain

don't mean your life is over. They mean

you are human. You can feel them and

still move forward slowly.

>> And many times the next move is actually

yours.

>> Yeah. The ball is in your court.

>> That idiom means it's your turn to act.

Life gave you a situation and now you

decide your next small step.

>> Not a perfect step, just a small kind

step.

>> So today we talked about inner

happiness, worry, goals, and pain. And

we use some useful words and phrases

along the way.

>> Yeah. In a moment we can slow down and

do a little word tour so you can really

feel confident using them.

>> But first, just take a breath and notice

how you feel right now. Okay, let's do a

little word tour now. We'll take some

phrases from today and make them clear

and easy. The first word is dwell or

dwell on something.

>> Dwell on means you keep thinking about

the same thing again and again. Usually

something negative. You stay inside that

thought for a long time.

>> For example, I try not to dwell on my

mistakes all night.

>> Or she dwelt on one bad comment and

forgot all the good ones. Our next word

is spiral or spiraling.

>> When your thoughts are spiraling, it

means one small worry becomes bigger and

bigger in your mind. Your thoughts go

down like a spiral and you feel worse.

>> For example, I saw one scary news story

and then my mind started spiraling.

>> Or when I'm tired, my thinking can

spiral very fast into negative stories.

>> Our next phrase is stuck in a rut. If

you are stuck in a rut, it means your

life feels the same every day and you

feel bored or trapped. You don't see a

new way forward.

>> For example, he felt stuck in a rut at

his job doing the same tasks for years.

>> Or, I knew I was stuck in a rut when

every day felt exactly the same.

>> Our next phrase is keep your head above

water.

>> This means you're just managing to

survive a difficult time. You're not

relaxed, but you're still going. You're

not drowning, but it's hard.

>> For example, with work and family, she's

just trying to keep her head above

water.

>> Or when money is tight, many people only

think about keeping their head above

water.

>> Our next phrase is bounce back.

>> Bounce back means you recover after

something bad or difficult. You feel

weak for a while, then slowly become

strong again. For example, it took time

but he bounced back after losing his

job.

>> Or you can bounce back from mistakes in

English if you keep practicing.

>> Our next one is an idiom. The grass

isn't always greener.

>> We say the grass isn't always greener to

mean other people's lives look better,

but you don't see their problems. What

you see from outside is not the full

truth. For example, she wanted her

friend's life, but later she realized

the grass wasn't always greener.

>> Or social media can make you forget that

the grass isn't always greener on the

other side.

>> Our next word is brood.

>> To brood means to sit and think about

something sad or negative for a long

time. You stay inside the sad feeling.

>> For example, after the breakup, he just

stayed in his room and brooded. or it's

okay to feel sad, but if you brood all

day, you feel even worse.

>> Our next phrase is work through.

>> Work through means to slowly deal with a

difficult feeling or problem step by

step. You don't run away from it. You

take time and process it.

>> For example, she needed time to work

through her fear of speaking in English.

>> Or it can take months to work through

heartache, but small actions help. And

our last one is the idiom the ball is in

your court.

>> This means now you must decide or take

action. It's your turn. Other people did

their part. Now it's your move.

>> For example, I sent him the offer. Now

the ball is in his court.

>> Or you know the problem and the options.

Now the ball is in your court.

>> So those were some of the words and

phrases from today. If you want, you can

listen again and try to catch them in

the main conversation.

>> Yeah. And maybe choose one or two that

you really like and try to use them this

week in your own sentences.

>> So, I guess that's our reminder for

today. Your thoughts are powerful and

small positive habits really matter.

>> Yeah, even one tiny thing counts. One

short walk, one calm breath, one kind

thought about yourself. That's already a

positive step.

>> If you like, tell us in the comments. My

small positive habit will be and write

just one thing you want to try.

>> And if this episode helped you feel a

little lighter or a little less alone,

you can like, subscribe, and come back

next time.

>> Take care of yourself. Be gentle with

your mind.

>> And remember, you don't have to be

perfect. You just have to keep moving

slowly in a kinder direction.

>> Right. This is Anna

>> and this is Jake

>> and you've been listening to the English

Leap podcast. Bye.

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