Transcript
Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well.
Welcome to this new video where we'll look at a French expression in just a few minutes.
Today, we're going to look at the expression "prendre du recul" (to step back / to gain perspective). This expression was requested by a subscriber a few weeks ago, but it can be useful for everyone, as it's an expression that's used a lot in France.
Before we start, don't forget to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and turn on notifications so you don't miss any of my videos, if you haven't done so already.
The expression "prendre du recul" can be used literally, exactly as it sounds, or figuratively.
When used literally, "prendre du recul" means to step back, to move backward. For example, if I'm standing in front of the Eiffel Tower and want to take a photo but can't see it entirely because I'm too close, I'll step back a bit. Then I can say I'm "prenant du recul" to get the whole Eiffel Tower in the shot.
There, you're physically performing the action of stepping back. But most of the time, this expression is used figuratively.
"Prendre du recul" means to look at things, to look at a situation differently, from another angle, to take some time for yourself to better analyze a situation. It's similar to the English "to take a step back" or "to gain some perspective."
"Prendre du recul" generally helps you put a situation into perspective or realize it's less serious than you thought. Or it can help you make a big decision, to change things in your life.
For example, when you're in a relationship with someone and things aren't going well anymore, you could say: "I need to take a step back (prendre un peu de recul) from our relationship."
So you need to think, to analyze what's happening, in order to make the right decision, to evaluate whether the situation works for you or not.
Or for example, at work, if you're extremely stressed every day because of your job, it can be good to "prendre du recul" and put things in perspective.
For instance, if you work for a website that sells sneakers and you're not meeting your sales targets, you can step back and tell yourself: it's not that serious - I don't work in a job where I save lives, so it's not the end of the world.
I take a step back, and I realize the situation isn't as bad as it seems. It's not a disaster if I don't hit my sales targets.
And let's end this video with a little quote from a French rapper called MC Solaar - maybe you know him.
In one of his songs (I'll put the link in the video description), he says: "alors je prends de l'avance en prenant du recul, car prendre du recul, c'est prendre de l'elan" (so I get ahead by stepping back, because stepping back is gaining momentum).
To move forward, you need to step back, because stepping back gives you momentum. That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this video and understood in which contexts to use this expression "prendre du recul."
If you liked the video, give it a thumbs up, and see you very soon for the next video.