You Never Start at Level 50

How to Handle Social Comparison Paralysis

“Donde está la biblioteca?” Even after years of practice, my Spanish skills are still muy mal. I’ve spent months living in Spanish-speaking countries, yet I still order food like a monosyllabic caveman. “Dos cervezas. Un plato de pollo.”

When people reply, all I hear is a rapid-fire string of what sounds like one long, unbroken word. “Por favor, necesitamos hablar más despacio.”

My fiancee, a fluent Spanish-speaking Mexican, makes the language sound like a beautiful melody. Her words flow effortlessly in a rhythm I can’t comprehend but admire deeply. Usually, I let her handle conversations when something important needs to get done. Unfortunately, this creates a self-defeating cycle: I feel inadequate, so I practice less, and as a result, I don’t improve.

But when I’m on my own, I stumble through and manage to get my point across. I’ve come a long way from where I started, able to navigate foreign countries in ways I never imagined possible three years ago. When I compare myself to other…