How Can Muscle Memory Help Your Career?
A warning to science geeks: I have taken a few liberties with the proper definition of muscle memory, which are induced physiological changes in the brain that attain increased levels of accuracy through repetition.
In normal-person-talk, this means when you perform an action enough times, the brain picks up on it, and allows you to perform the action without thinking about it. For example, you weren’t born with the ability to write, brush your hair, or drive a car. However, after you learned how to do these things, they became such a part of your day to day life that now you no longer have to consciously think about doing them. They just come natural.
As I type this article, I am demonstrating muscle memory in the sense that I do not have to think about the keys that I am hitting. Even though I am not formally trained at typing, I do have the keys memorized to the point where I can have words seemingly flow from my brain onto the screen. The middle step of finding the correct keys is so familiar to me, that I can use my brain power to think about other things, such as making a coherent article out of the crazy mess that is my line of thoughts. I’m serious; it’s like a rainforest in there!
If you’re a wrestling fan, you may remember in 2003 at Wrestlemania XIX when Brock Lesnar was facing Kurt Angle for the World Heavyweight Championship, and Lesnar went to the top rope for the scripted finish to the match. The original plan was for Lesnar, who is a big guy at 265 pounds to perform a spectacular high risk move and pin Angle for the belt. The plan went awry however, when Lesnar botched the move and landed on his forehead, knocking him silly and giving him a concussion. Lesnar later said that he had no memory of finishing the match, which would have fooled the casual viewer because his muscle memory kicked in and he pinned Angle after performing his normal finishing maneuver.
Once you have a well developed muscle memory, you will be able to perform under wide varieties of conditions that might otherwise hold you back, such as a concussion. Hopefully, that won’t be necessary though. Hopefully, the extent of your obstacles will be things such as bad weather, minor intoxication, and the common cold.
At any rate, the only way to develop a muscle memory is to actually practice your skill. You will never develop a muscle memory by reading about something.
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. You should always be looking to improve your skills, and reading about them is a great way to peruse through other people’s collective knowledge. If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need, it’s more and more people out there in the professional world who don’t know what they are doing. By all means, learn all you can, so that you can truly school what you do.
What I AM saying is that the professionals didn’t get the way they are by only reading about what they do. They got that way by practicing their skill. So whatever your skill is, you can get better at it by allowing your subconscious mind to take over. Practice good habits when you are learning your skill, and in time they will become second nature to you.
The concept of a muscle memory can work in any aspect of your life that you apply it to. You can use it to become an early riser, to become a skilled gamer, to learn how to cook, drive a stick shift, and to help develop good habits. You can use the very concept of muscle memory in every aspect of self improvement.
So whatever it is that you want to do with your life, all it takes it the ability to identify the entry level of your chosen profession, and just do it! Life will pass you by unless you spend it moving towards the path you desire to be on. Many, many people have the plans, and even the competence to do what they want in life, yet they lack the experience to do it. So get the skills that you need under your belt, and from there you can focus your energy and effort on other ways to get ahead on your path.
21 January 2009 at 9:05 am
Thanks for the post. I guess i need to leverage this to get up earlier in the morning.
21 January 2009 at 7:46 pm
This is a great article because it brings me back to my sales job I did 2 years ago.
My manager/leader told me all the time to memorize my script so it becomes second nature. I don’t have to even try to remember it because it will just come to me.
Once I have that, he said you can add your own creativity and personality to it, to make it better.
21 January 2009 at 8:27 pm
@ Make Money Online Tips
I linked to Steve Pavlina’s excellent article above about becoming an early riser. I highly recommend it.
@ tom
Thank you for the compliment. And yes, you get the idea completely. The idea is to commit the basic work to muscle memory, and then you can use your concious thoughts to add a little something extra to it. Thanks for your input!
22 January 2009 at 9:59 pm
All good points Trey. Muscle memory is important. The unconscious has the ability to do anything, and when you train it as you stated, things become automatic. Think above driving. We all drive so much, then there are times you will have been driving for 20 minutes and not even realize it, yet you stopped at lights, signaled, etc.. That is muscle memory at work.
22 January 2009 at 10:13 pm
@ Jay
Very well said. Thank you for your contribution.
23 January 2009 at 12:22 pm
Trey,
I like your attitude a LOT – read your comments over at Zenhabits and your profile here …
I think of it as “muscle mind” – muscle memory is a way of training the muscle mind – I personally think it is a great way to get the mind and body working together – which is why I think it aids us in so many aspects of our lives (like you mention).
24 January 2009 at 2:29 am
Hi Trey
Great way to demonstrate that we need to keep going.
Not only that, but muscle memory is a fascinating topic. I studied kinesiology and it taught me just how much we ignore our physical bodies, what the tell us, how much we can learn from them, and how we can change ourselves by using them.
Juliet
25 January 2009 at 1:27 am
@ Maya
I think that your definition makes a lot of sense logically. Personally, I don’t care for the phrase “Muscle Memory” that much, but it’s what people call it, so I choose to spread awareness, instead of try to change the name. And thank you for your compliments!
@ Juliet
Sean of http://www.thinkandswitch.com recommends that we spend time looking into the mirror every day as part of a self improvement regiment. I can agree with that logic, and it would help to solve many of the problems that you speak of. And I agree that muscle memory is fascinating. It’s a very powerful part of our brain that we neglect to use. It is powerful enough that you don’t have to use it, and it can take over your entire life. When people are on “cruise control” like this, they often forget how to enjoy life. There’s not many brain functions that are this powerful! Thanks for your contribution!