The New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about Pitching with Purpose, citing a sport psychiatrist’s book called “The Mental ABC’s of Pitching”. Brooks is not a sport writer. The article goes beyond how to master the craft of pitching baseball.
Mastering a second language is very much like mastering a craft of any sport. When studying a new language, you can learn as much as, if not more, from the mental game of a pitch than from an ESL teacher.
As it turns out, talent or courage has less to do with the greatness of a pitcher. It’s the discipline. The book author asserted this way:
“Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from laziness and lethargy, freedom from expectations and demands of others, freedom from weakness and fear — and doubt.”
Now, go after that freedom relentlessly.
