“How’s your German? How long have you been living in Switzerland again?”

I’m not going to speak for all but there are many expats living in Switzerland who will be familiar with this conversation. Some answer with “I’m so embarrassed, I’ve been living here for ages and my German still isn’t great”. It’s like the longer we have been here, the more ashamed we become. I’ve been there myself too and I’ve seen that this often blocks people rather than motivate them to do something about it.

I was talking to a mastermind buddy and she had run over her launch deadlines. She was feeling pretty bad about it. Rather than helping her take action, it added to her woes and it blocked her even more.

It doesn’t have to get to the point where it is so bad that we hit rock bottom before we make changes. We can take a step back, realize that it’s never too late and be kinder to ourselves. We can accept the feelings of embarrassment or shame and do something about it instead.

If you find yourself saying “I’m so embarrassed” more often than you would like, ask yourself what you can do about it. If we’re talking about German, sign up for a German course, an intensive one, one over Skype, join a conversation group, find an exchange partner or even a Swiss German course? Or not even that, just know that you are enough with or without German.

There’s no need to be embarrassed.