Hi my name’s Nick Simcock, an English Language coach. I help Italians to unlock their English.
Puoi ascoltare questo podcast e leggere contemporaneamente una trascrizione completa sul mio sito speakwithnick.it podcast. Ma prima di seguire la trascrizione ti invito ad ascoltare senza leggere. Con un approccio positivo e curioso, accetta il fatto che non capirai tutto all’inizio, cerca di intuire il significato, poi dopo leggi la trascrizione per arrivare ad una comprensione completa. Buon ascolto!
How are you? I hope your 2025 has started well 🎉 and that you’ve already made some super memories this year, like meeting good friends, starting a new project or simply enjoying walks in nature.
However, life isn’t always a bed of roses. When things become challenging we really need to remember that life will always find a way and happy times will return!
It isn’t always easy to stay positive, because we humans are hard-wired with a negativity bias. It’s there to protect us from dangers in life. We vividly remember bad experiences and uncomfortable situations so that we can avoid repeating them in the future. Unfortunately this means we tend to remember, feel and even imagine negativity more strongly than positivity.
A happiness jar
is a great way to combat the tendency that we have to look on the bad side of life. Writing down any good, enjoyable and precious moments on a piece of paper and putting them in a jar is a great way of tipping the balance towards a more positive approach to life! The jar and its little notes are physical reminders of special memories, joys and triumphs. Maybe the smile of your son or daughter when they succeed in some way, a talk with a friend, a special event or a day out, a step ahead at work or progress with your English. It’s a fantastic way to celebrate and treasure the great things in life and find your gratitude. The great thing about gratitude is you can’t feel unhappy while you are feeling grateful – try it!
Choose your Jar!
An old jam jar is perfect, but it can be any container. The choice is yours, but I think it should be made of glass because then you can see the messages growing in number and at a glance it reminds you that there have been special times!
Position your jar!
Make sure you leave your jar in a visible place in your house, somewhere you will see it everyday. Leave a pen and some scrap paper next to the jar so it is easy to quickly jot down any precious moments. It’s easy to forget your jar, so I suggest making it part of your daily routine.
Tap into your happiness!
If you start your jar today and write just one note a week, by the time you get to spring you will already have a treasure of joy to read through, perfect to brighten a solitary rainy Sunday afternoon. Opening your jar and reading your notes can also be a great family moment. Just imagine going through your memories next New Year’s Eve with your loved ones – what a great way to welcome in 2026!
In my community Second Nature English lots of the members have started a happiness jar this week to document not only the positivity in their lives but also their English progress! This process combines thinking, writing, reading and speaking in English because we will share our memories. If you’re interested in being part of a positive English speaking community and making English your Second Language then visit my website and sign up to the Second Nature English Waiting list because I will be opening the doors very soon!
Do you have a happiness jar or are you going to start one?
What’s your best memory so far this year?
If you’ve enjoyed this podcast and you want English as your second language, find out more about me and my method on my website, simply go to speakwithnick.it
And also on my website, as I said at the start of this podcast, you can listen to my voice as you read the transcript. There’s also a language focus to help you with some of the more unusual phrases I’ve used. The link is in the description. Ciao for now!
Fantastic text Nick, thank you🥰
I miss you and I miss English too…
I’m going to schedule my aims for 2025 and I’m thinking of you❤️
Happy new year💪😃