I spent last week in Mexico for a wedding. My poor attempts to speak Spanish with the locals reminded me of a critical rule of learning:

If you want to feel motivated to study, put yourself into an environment where your shortcomings are obvious and frustrating.

I kept trying to speak with people, struggling, and then feeling mad that I, someone who studied Spanish in high school and in Argentina 10 years ago during study abroad, could barely order a cup of coffee without sounding like an idiot.

Feeling like an idiot inspired me to google Spanish phrases and practice saying them. Feeling like an idiot is great fuel for wanting to learn.

We should also strive to feel like idiots more often (my somewhat shy included).