Learning Japanese

Peace family, is there some difficult or pesky task that you’ve been putting off?

I’ve found that it’s a lot harder to notice when I’m procrastinating as an adult than it was when I was a child. With homework and clear deadlines, there was an obvious way to grade myself on what I was accomplishing and when, but as an adult, sometimes I don’t even really notice the things that I’m trying to forget about!

Entering a new year has brought my attention back to several things that I need or would like to do; one of them is to learn conversational Japanese. I always wanted to learn Japanese in my preteen years, but I haven’t really focused on it or thought about it for the last several years. However, now I have two Japanese friends who gave me three textbooks as a gift, and another Japanese friend who wants to meet with me once a week until I really can speak simple Japanese! That’s some pretty good accountability, and removes some of my major obstacles such as the cost of study materials and lack of native speakers nearby. Learning Japanese won’t be easy, but the sooner I start learning, the more opportunities there will be to use that skill.

That might be kind of a silly example compared to some other life goals, but it got me thinking about other items in my life that I’ve been putting off. Are you putting off any hard learning experiences or conversations? What about any fitness, spiritual, relational, or professional goals? What changes can you make today? There’s no time like the present, and God will not abandon you! You can do it. Make good use of your life!