I know how you feel if you’re reading this post, because I’ve been there myself.

I’ve been learning languages my whole life, and at some point, I linked my success in this activity to my self-worth. Now I realize how faulty this way of thinking is, and I’m actively trying to unlearn it. But something tells me you might be struggling with the same thing, and so you might very well know how hard it can be…

Maybe you’ve found yourself asking:

Should I even bother learning a foreign language if I can never reach that elusive perfection, if I can never become as good as a native speaker?

Of course, even native speakers aren’t perfect in their first languages. There are plenty of things they may not know or be particularly good at. They may not be able to use literary language. They may not be familiar with certain slang, terminology, or dialects. They may not be particularly knowledgeable about every aspect of the culture associated with their language, especially if that language is spoken across vastly different parts of the world.

And yet, somehow, we foreign-language learners associate native-speaker level with perfection, with some ultimate standard we would really love to achieve. And that’s understandable. We want to become proficient. Many of us genuinely do. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with making proficiency an important goal.

But if we’re ready to give up an activity that brings us joy and meaning simply because we’re afraid we might never be good enough, then I think we have a problem.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be asking, “Will I ever become as good as a native speaker?”

Perhaps we should be asking:

“Why does it bother me so much that I might never achieve perfection?”

Why would we consider abandoning something beautiful and deeply rewarding, such as learning a language, exploring another culture, expanding our horizons, connecting with people in a new way, simply because we might not become perfect at it?

And guess what? We’re more than likely not going to achieve perfection.

In fact, I’ll put it even more strongly: we will not achieve perfection, because perfection is an illusion.

It doesn’t exist in any area of life, and it certainly doesn’t exist in language learning.

So, what’s my answer to the question?

Should I even try if I know I’ll never reach the level of a native speaker?

Yes. Yes. Yes.

If learning a language brings you joy, if it fills your heart, if it gives you a sense of satisfaction, if you feel good while doing it, keep going.

If you can get into that wonderful state of flow while reading, writing, speaking to someone, listening to the language, or doing whatever kind of language-learning activity speaks to your soul, do it.

And remember something else.

You may be so focused on perfection because, somewhere along the way, you learned that good performance (perhaps even exceptional performance) was the key to being liked, valued, or accepted by the people around you. That may be the deeper issue.

And if that’s true, you might be struggling with the same thing not only in language learning, but in other areas of your life as well.

So my honest advice is this:

Look deeply within yourself and try to understand what your striving for perfection is really about.

And then, if you discover that you simply love learning languages, give yourself permission to do it. You don’t have to justify it by becoming exceptional. You don’t have to prove your worth by speaking like a native. You don’t even have to become “good enough.” You can simply learn because you love learning.

That is what it’s all about.