Build Muscle Memory

Chronicles of an Afropreneur

Dear ,
 

This post is not about going to the gym, at least not a physical gym. I just imagined people close this email in anger lol.

Muscle memory refers to memories stored in your brain for frequently used tasks. It's a form of procedural memory that can help you become really good at something through repetition, or absolutely terrible at something if you repeatedly do it wrong. It occurs in weirdest things too - Have you wondered why you prefer cooking a certain way even though you have learnt a better way? Have you ever wondered why you unconsciously drive via a certain route even though a shorter route now exists?

Wisdom = Muscle Memory!

You can be the smartest graduate from the best school in the world. You may be the most talented and creative among your peers. But until you have been in, seen, witnessed enough business/life crises. Until you’ve recovered from enough business/life meltdowns. Until you can react like a well-trained pilot with well-tuned muscle memory and without too much thinking, understand your situation, the risks and what it takes to recover, and act based on the often unconscious analysis. You probably will not be as successful as you wish.

Wisdom trumps IQ!

Get yourself a business coach, understudy someone, hangout in the communities of people that have the experience you seek, 'practice practice practice'. Accumulate experiences. Don’t ever undervalue wisdom and experience over intelligence.

How do you build muscle memory? You build it by chunking things into small recognizable parts. More broadly, when you want to learn to do something well, break it into small parts and take each part slowly until you're able to do it very well. Take breaks. Be patient. 

But you also have to keep this at the back of your mind - Entrepreneurship is a lifelong journey of unlearning what doesn't work, learning what works and relearning what you are not applying appropriately.

Reply this email with creative ways you have built muscle memory over time.

Side note: Let part of your muscle memory be reading, digesting and practising my emails. And then sharing with someone new in your email list or social media. You can share this with them - 

Keep grinding,
Uwem