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We all have a built in autopilot that helps us do routine tasks. Muscle memory is developed after we do a task over and over again, multiple times. We remember the motor skills needed for an activity and can perform it “automatically” without needing to think about. We rely on muscle memory for typing, walking and tying our shoes. I’ve been thinking quite a bit about muscle memory since I have been trying to both forget an existing muscle memory and to create a new one.
My husband and I have been taking waltz lessons. We are hoping to create some dance instincts for our four left feet, but our efforts haven’t been going too well. Our international competition dance instructor has relied on his muscle memory for so long that he had trouble relating to our null skill set. His attempts at telling us “to dance lighter on our feet” were as effective as asking a second grader to put more jazz into their “jazz hands.” We need to be shown basic steps. When I say basic, I mean basic. I’m looking for, “The right foot starts, and goes here. Then your left foot goes here. That is not your left foot. That still is not your left foot.”
Even though we haven’t yet developed Waltz muscle memory, I think that trying something new offers great benefits. Looking clumsy in public maintains humility. Attempting a new skill keeps the neurological pathways in the brain sharp. Being a dance partner with your life partner feeds your heart.
While I was trying to learn something new, I was also trying to unlearn a deeply established act. I never considered how starting my car was so deeply automatic. My loaner car this week had a push button ignition and I never got the hang of it. In my old car, with one swoop, I’d put on my seatbelt while I turned the key in the ignition. Now with a new hybrid vehicle, I labored with stepping on the brake, finding and pushing the ignition and selecting “yes” on the dashboard computer. I waited to hear an engine that never would make a sound.
With the key unnecessary, I wasn’t sure if I still had my key chain. I stopped, dug it out from my purse, looked at it and then put it back in my purse. My autopilot was gone. I had to think about how to start the car. It seemed so unrewarding to push the start button. My disappointment reminded me of the first time I gave up our rotary phone. I had to push the button to hang up, instead of slamming down the receiver. I think that unlearning something is much harder than learning new things. But I know that it is good for me to try something new and to let go of something old and comfortable. It sharpens my brain and softens my outlook.
Becky Reil is a lover of art, architecture and good food. Traveling with her husband and friends is her favorite way to enjoy all of her interests. She ate her way through thirteen countries and has several trips planned for the near future. Local food is her passion, and she will reluctantly share her "secret" sources for sausage, beef, grits and produce. Becky is constantly working to enlarge her fabric stash and enjoys quilting and collecting textiles. A graduate of Radford University, she has worked as an Art Teacher and as a Job Coach for disabled persons.
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