Your Hidden Potential: Ordinary vs Extraordinary - British English Podcast

Hello, and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast, the listening

resource that's designed for intermediate to advanced level English learners.

My name is Anna, and today we are exploring the extraordinary.

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So, let's get on with today's extraordinary episode.

I am an avid squash player.

Happiness for me is on court, feeling on top form with a racket in hand.

One of the most beneficial lessons I have learned in squash is to

'never give up', you could say that this is a valuable life lesson too.

There are countless occasions where your opponent will place the ball on

the opposite side of the court, either lobbing it over your head into the back

corner, or doing a sneaky dropshot at the front of court when you are at the back.

It's easy to throw your hands up and admit defeat on those occasions,

rather than fight to return a shot that is seemingly out of reach.

However, if you simply make an effort to get to the ball, an astonishing thing

happens, half the time you succeed.

If you give up, then you lose the rally, it's a sure thing, it's a done deal.

If you try, then you are in with a chance.

So, now I go for everything, no matter how impossible it may seem.

It never ceases to amaze me how often I come up trumps.

I'm often congratulated with cheers of,

"Extraordinary shot, Anna!

How on earth did you get that?"

Extraordinary, am I an extraordinary squash player?

On the contrary, I am actually very ordinary, but very ordinary people

can do extraordinary things if they just try a little harder than others.

Do you consider yourself to be extraordinary?

Have you ever done anything extraordinary?

I bet you have.

First of all, what makes a person ordinary or extraordinary?

An ordinary person follows the status quo, they do what is expected of them.

I consider myself to be a highly conscientious, straight walking,

hard-working contributor to society.

Not extraordinary in the slightest.

I do as others do in a very ordinary way.

I'm not hugely talented or highly intelligent.

I'm not Serena Williams or Albert Einstein.

But I believe that ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things.

My theory is that an extraordinary person is one that can be truly happy in their

own skin and therefore feels free to explore their own desires and dreams, able

to hold fast to their own principles even in the face of opposition and obstacles.

Let's dive into some examples.

We're going to turn our sights to some historical examples

of extraordinary people.

And let me start with the mother of the civil rights movement, Rosa Parks.

She was born in 1913 in Alabama, USA, during a time of deep racial segregation.

She worked as a seamstress and was an active member of the NAACP, which

is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

On December the 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks was on a bus home after a long day at work.

She was asked by the bus driver to surrender her seat to a

white man, as was required by segregation laws, but she refused.

She was arrested.

And this simple act led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a coordinated protest

by the African American community against segregated public transport.

About this incident, Rosa said,

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was

tired, but that isn't true.

I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually

was at the end of a working day.

I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then.

I was 42.

No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."

So what was the overall impact of Rosa's actions, her refusal

to give in on that day?

Well, the bus boycott that her actions sparked lasted for 381 days, during

which the African American community, led by figures like Martin Luther King

Jr., boycotted the entire bus system.

The US Supreme Court eventually ruled that segregation on public buses was

unconstitutional, marking a significant victory for the civil rights movement.

Imagine doing something so extraordinary on your bus ride home from work.

Now, moving on to an extraordinarily brave young woman, Malala Yousafzai.

Malala, born in 1997, grew up in the Swat Valley in Pakistan, where the Taliban

had banned girls from attending school.

Malala, with the support of her father, continued to advocate for the

right to education, documenting her experiences on a blog for the BBC Urdu.

In 2012, at the age of 15, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman

while returning home from school.

Miraculously, she survived the attack — which beggars belief; she

was shot in the head at point blank range and lived to tell the story.

That is nothing short of a miracle.

What is extraordinary about this young lady is that she continued her activism

with even greater determination.

I don't know if I would have the courage to continue on my mission after

an assassination attempt like that.

And in 2014, Malala became the youngest ever Nobel Prize

laureate at the age of just 17.

Malala's advocacy has since expanded globally, emphasising the importance

of education for girls and women.

Keep up the good work, Malala.

Next, I would like to mention an extraordinary man who was

fiercely committed to peace and reconciliation, Nelson Mandela.

Born in 1918 and sadly lost in 2013.

Mandela was a leading figure in the struggle against

apartheid in South Africa.

Apartheid is a basic term which means racial segregation.

He became involved in political activism in the 1940s, joining the

ANC, which is the African National Congress and advocating for the

rights of black South Africans.

In 1962, Mandela was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for his

involvement in anti-apartheid activities.

He spent 27 years in prison, during which he became a symbol of the

global anti-apartheid movement.

During his time behind bars, he faced harsh conditions, meant to break his

resolve, but he stuck to his guns.

Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and he played a crucial role

in negotiations to end apartheid.

In 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections, and Mandela

was elected as the country's first black president, symbolising the

end of institutionalised racism.

Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, and Nelson Mandela; these individuals faced

significant challenges and risks, but their resilience, courage, and commitment

to their principles led to extraordinary achievements that had a lasting

impact on our societies and the world.

I hope that you found today's episode inspiring.

Now go out and do something extraordinary or just be your ordinary

self in the most extraordinary way.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.