“man gewöhnt sich daran !”.

Translating:

“you get used to it!”

This was the slogan of the German mate Club-Mate for years.

And why on earth would a brand use this slogan?

It’s simple, but a bit bizarre:

People’s feedback.

The initial reaction to mate was always one of disgust.

That’s because it’s a carbonated mate with caffeine and sugar.

Usually, people only started liking it after a few tries.

This is a perfect example of what’s called “acquired taste.”

Learning to like something that you:

1. Were exposed to only a few times,

and/or

2. Were exposed to the wrong way.

Think about it:

You weren’t born liking dark chocolate.

Much less salad.

Those were acquired tastes.

It was definitely the case for me.

I remember hating lettuce when I was a kid.

Even if I knew it was healthy, I couldn’t like it.

Until, after countless attempts, something changed.

I mixed it with yuca and meat and liked it.

That broke the initial mental barrier.

And as time went by, I learned to like it by itself.

That’s the point:

Many attempts, with elements I liked.

That’s why Club-Mate’s slogan is the secret to fluency.

Because fluency only comes through daily contact with the language.

Contact which will only be daily if there is a real taste for it.

For many, just the idea of doing something in another language is already bothersome.

Doing it every day, then, not even dreaming about it.

But that doesn’t mean the other language is difficult.

It means you haven’t yet taken a liking to it.

And if that’s the case, here’s the solution:

Compound interest.

Or, in plain English:

A little bit every day.

Start small and with no big expectations.

Have as your only goal to do something in the language.

Vary this ‘something’ over the days.

Test different things and use your interest as a metric.

If it’s really high, keep going.

If not, stop and switch.

I guarantee you’ll find something that’s truly engaging.

This interest will generate a liking for the language.

The liking will generate the habit.

The habit, small results.

The small results, big results.

And just like that, little by little, fluency will come.

All because you weren’t discouraged by the initial distaste.

You kept trying until you added 1+1 and got 2.

2, which becomes 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, etc.

Compound interest.

And I state with no fear of mistake:

You will miss it.

Soon the other language will be essential to you.

Something that’s part of your routine.

And when you can’t have it around, it will feel strange.

You will miss its absence.

I know it may be weird to read this now.

But I assure you it can happen.

Keyword: can.

As long as you really try.

Without being shocked by the different writing.

By the sounds you’ve never heard before.

And that you’ve never had to reproduce.

The words that seem to have a thousand different meanings.

Just keep going and trust that you will succeed.

Always researching, repeating, and living the language.

And then, the certainty will come to your mind:

“you get used to it!”