The Joy of a Strong WHY.

I have been trying to learn to speak impeccable French since 2011, and I am still not there after a decade-plus of trying. It has been sometimes frustrating, and I often want to give up on the goal. I have tried almost everything to become proficient in my French communication skills. I have attended multiple classes in different formats, including residential (Nigerian French Language Village), formal classroom (daily lesson), watching French movies and documentaries, listening to a French podcast, reading French books, blogging in French, and even moving to a French-speaking city. It’s been a rollercoaster of breaks, progress and grit. The main thing that has made me stay consistent with my French Language learning goal is my WHY.

Here are some statistics that my WHY for learning to speak French is predicated on:

According to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) estimates, there will be some 715 million speakers in 2050 (8% of the world’s population), of which 250 million French speakers will be Africans. (70% of the world’s Francophones).
According to the 2022 Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) report, With 321 million speakers, French remains the 5th most spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish). The majority of French speakers (62%) now live in Africa, ³
The UN projects that the world population will increase from 7.7 billion today to 10.9 billion by 2100. Most of this growth will come from Africa; its share of the world population will rise from 17% to 40%. More than 8-in-10 people will live in Asia or Africa by the end of the century. 2
Of the 54 countries in the African continent, 29 countries are French-speaking. Twenty-one of those countries are considered Francophone countries. Francophone countries are countries which use French as their official language or use it as one of their other official languages.

It has been tough cracking this goal of speaking impeccable French, but I am on my way to finally cracking it. As Friedrich Nietzsche once famously said, “He who has a strong why can bear almost any how.” As the above stats show, the significant growth in the world, both in population and economic growth, will mainly happen in Africa and Asia. The African continent has so much potential with its youthful population and natural resources. However, bad leadership, infrastructural issues, brain drain, and a lack of vision are reasons the continent is moving in the right direction. My strongest WHY for learning French is to contribute my quota in making the continent great again.

There are days I want to throw in the towel with my language-learning adventure, but remembering my WHY gives me the joy and strength to continue studying, learning and persevering. I remember my vision of contributing my quota to making the continent great through commerce, leadership and nation-building. I know it will get more challenging by the day, but with a strong WHY, I believe every goal is achievable. As author Napoleon Hill quipped in his classic book Think and Grow Rich, “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive and Believe, It Can Achieve.”. I speak French at a CEFR B1-B2 level, and one of my goals for 2024 is to get to C1-level French language proficiency.

Her

Meditations

Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Headwinds

Sometimes, it feels effortless to meditate, and some other days, just starting is a battle.

“If you meditate regularly, even when you don’t feel like it, you will make great gains, for it will allow you to see how your thoughts impose limits on you. Your resistances to meditation are your mental prisons in miniature.” – Ram Dass

Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Be Your Own Fan

When we focus on getting approval from others, we miss out on the person whose opinion matters most. It is incredible to have people in the stands cheering you up, but what matters most is that you show up for yourself.

Daily Trip with Jeff Warren – Wetlands