Seeping into the world full of English

I'm now going through a series of online lectures provided by Stanford University, and I am doing it in a quick pace now. Yesterday, I watched 4 lectures because the contents were already a little familiar to me. And I noticed one thing we leap when we dive into the world of English for a long time.

I usually watch one or two lectures at most. In that case, I feel a little far from being able to listen to English instinctively, but yesterday, I could understand it like an having image in my brain, just like listening to my mother language Japanese. And I got a hint of attitude about how to listen. The point is, you shouldn't follow the sound to interpret the meaning of each word. It is actually hard to explain, but I felt something different yesterday. I felt "I am getting better!!". After more than 8 years of learning English, I felt a little impatience that I don't speak and listen well. But there was a progress yesterday, I am now more motivated.

Learning something requires constant effort. Since nothing comes easily, we need to practice and practice on a daily basis. However, our motivation gradually get weaker, when we are challenged or having failure. But we should keep doing that, because we know something happens that shows progress or brings success that motivate us if we do it a lot. And once you get over any obstacles, your passion becomes stronger than before. Leonald Da Vinchi said something like this. "Whatever challenges I have, they will only strengthen my passion." I like this. I want to have this in mind every time.