5 Habits I’ve Noticed in My Most Successful Spanish Students: Habit 3

1. Habit #1: Make Spanish Part of Your Everyday Life
2. Habit #2: Speak Spanish every day
3. Habit #3: They step into the discomfort zone often
4. Habit #4: [Coming soon]
5. Habit #5: [Coming soon]

Becoming a bilingual person who speaks Spanish as a second language means learning to experience Spanish not just as something you have to study, but as a way to experience the world.

This may mean feeling comfortable making mistakes and continuing the conversation even when you don’t know exactly what to say.

Not everyone feels comfortable doing that. But I’ve noticed that some of my most successful students are used to stepping into their discomfort zone in other areas of their lives.

And this made me wonder: Could their relationship with discomfort be part of what helps them learn?

Why Physical Exercise Is Connected to Learning

In my experience, many of my most disciplined Spanish students are also people who regularly train their bodies and minds. Of course, this doesn’t mean that going to the gym automatically makes you a better language learner.

However, research suggests that physical exercise is associated with changes in processes involved in neuroplasticity, including the release of neurotrophic factors such as BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). BDNF plays an important role in neuronal health and synaptic plasticity, which are closely related to learning and memory.

For language learning, the connection is interesting. Learning a new word isn’t simply about seeing it repeatedly. Your brain has to encode it, connect it to existing knowledge, retrieve it, and eventually access it more efficiently. Physical activity may support some of the brain processes involved in learning and memory.

But for me, the point of view of this article isn’t really about the gym.

It’s about discomfort.

Training Teaches You That Discomfort Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

I’ve noticed something interesting about some of my students who train regularly: they seem to be more familiar with discomfort.

They understand that feeling challenged doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing something wrong. Sometimes, it simply means they’re pushing themselves beyond what feels easy.

Learning a language requires a similar mindset. There will be moments when you don’t know a word, when your sentence doesn’t come out the way you wanted, or when you have to keep talking even though you’re not completely sure what you’re saying.

That discomfort is not necessarily a sign that you’re failing. It can be part of the process of becoming better.

Does this mean that physical training will make you smarter or help you learn Spanish faster? Well, the evidence is not conclusive enough to make that claim.

But I can tell you what I see in my classroom.

From Translation to Discomfort

Some of my students were very attached to translation before starting the RRF™ Method. Translation was their comfort zone.

Whenever they didn’t know a word, they would immediately look for it. Whenever they couldn’t express an idea, they would switch to English. And when the conversation became difficult, they would stop.

So, in order to change this, we started a very simple exercise: describing.

When they don’t know a word, they cannot immediately translate, switch to English, use a dictionary, or stop talking. Instead, they have to find another way to communicate the idea.

For example:

• “No sé la palabra, pero es una cosa que usamos para…”
• “Es como…”
• “Lo contrario de…”
• “Es una persona que…”
• “No recuerdo el nombre, pero…”

At first, this can feel extremely uncomfortable. And that’s exactly the point.

The goal isn’t to speak perfect Spanish. The goal is to stay in the conversation while feeling uncomfortable. Because real-life conversations don’t stop every time you forget a word.

You have to keep going. You have to find another way. You have to trust the words you already know.

And little by little, your brain learns that not knowing a word doesn’t mean you have to escape the conversation.

Can You Stay When Spanish Gets Uncomfortable?

Once we started this practice, I began paying attention to what my students did when they felt uncomfortable.

Some immediately wanted to translate. Others went silent. Some laughed nervously. But with practice, many of them started doing something different:

They stayed. They described. They rephrased. They kept communicating.

And that changed something important. They began to understand that discomfort was not something they had to escape from. It was something they could stay with.

Maybe this is one of the reasons I admire my most successful students. They don’t necessarily know more words than everyone else. They simply let me guide them as they become more willing to keep going when the answer doesn’t come immediately.

And that is a skill you can train.

So, the next time you forget a word in Spanish, don’t run to the dictionary. Don’t switch to English. Don’t stop.

Ready to Train Your Spanish Differently?

This is exactly the kind of practice we do with the RRF™ Method by Easy Spanish Medellín. My method isn’t about memorizing endless lists of vocabulary or waiting until your Spanish is perfect before you start speaking. It is about creating the right experiences for your brain to retrieve, connect, and use Spanish in real-life situations.

If you’re ready to move from translating every idea to actually thinking and communicating in Spanish, try the RRF™ Method with me.

You don’t need more time. Step into the discomfort zone. Stay in Spanish. And start becoming the Spanish speaker you want to be.