# Anyone else lose a skill by thinking about it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021 "2012-01-19T15:35:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/21 "2012-01-19T20:23:13Z")
I never have to try to remember where I parked. No matter how big the lot, or how long I’ve been gone (like when I leave my car at the airport, or at a major tourist attraction like a state fair), I will always just automatically walk to it. Unless I stop and think about it. If I give even a fleeting thought to, “Huh, I hope I can find my car!”, I lose the ability to automatically home in on it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/22 "2012-01-19T20:43:28Z")
It’s really weird. So what I had to do was the next couple of times I parallel parked, I intentionanlly chose big wide spots with lots of room for error and parked. I kind of had to brush up on something I had been doing for years without thinking about, stupid brain. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/23 "2012-01-19T21:06:11Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It’s really weird. So what I had to do was the next couple of times I parallel parked, I intentionanlly chose big wide spots with lots of room for error and parked. I kind of had to brush up on something I had been doing for years without thinking about, stupid brain. [Parallel parking secret.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu85OJwAtuU&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/24 "2012-01-19T21:11:26Z")
Also known as the Northern Virginia method. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/25 "2012-01-19T21:12:40Z")
I thought it was ChiTown Method. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/26 "2012-01-19T21:25:08Z")
Known in Boston as Park by Feel. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/27 "2012-01-19T21:54:23Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > All the time. I have to avoid thinking about walking while I am actually walking because I might hurt myself. I sometimes get this - the whole experience dissolves into a collection of unrelated movements and I trip over my own feet. Same thing, but worse, at the bowling alley, if I think too much about my feet on the approach. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/28 "2012-01-19T22:34:22Z")
> [@Cryptic\_C62](#): > > Occasionally when playing guitar, I’ll be able to lock down a particular groove or pattern without thinking about what I’m doing, but as soon as I start concentrating on what I’m doing, I lose it. Grrr. So, no, you’re not the only one! I play the piano, but very much the same thing for me. I need to concentrate when I’m learning something, but thereafter, too much thinking about it makes it a lot more difficult to play. It’s very much the same way for any sort of activity where we’ve trained in it enough that we don’t really need to have it in the front of our consciousness. I’d liken it to thinking about breathing. After thinking about it I end up consciously controlling it, but I do it just fine when I don’t think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/29 "2012-01-19T22:43:30Z")
I was humiliated last week when I brought my son to his new afterschool program. One of the kindergarten kids had a Rubik’s cube, and I said “I can solve that for you”. But I got to the last step, and I got mixed up. So I started thinking about what I did wrong and after that I just couldn’t solve it. When I don’t think about it my hands do it automatically. I had to go home and practice with another cube. The next day I was able to do it and impress the little tykes. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/30 "2012-01-19T22:46:35Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > [Parallel parking secret.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu85OJwAtuU&feature=related) I like [this way better](http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=ZhICCYdUTAE) ([youtube.com](http://youtube.com)) Egyptian man has added a fifth wheel to the back center of his car. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/31 "2012-01-19T22:53:13Z")
Tying shoes. When I just do it, no problem. When I have to break it down into steps (say, teaching a kid how?) Problem. Ditto for tying a tie. I taught my sons by putting one on each of us, and standing in front of a mirror, because I couldn’t manage otherwise! ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/32 "2012-01-19T23:27:59Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It’s really weird. So what I had to do was the next couple of times I parallel parked, I intentionanlly chose big wide spots with lots of room for error and parked. I kind of had to brush up on something I had been doing for years without thinking about, stupid brain. I almost never have to parallel park since I live in the country. On the rare occasion when I have to, I actually listen to my driving instructor’s voice in my head going through the steps I have to follow. It’s the only way I can do it. It’s kinda creepy, because I think my driving instructor is probably dead by now. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/33 "2012-01-20T00:28:49Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > Touch typing Me too. Normally when I’m typing, it’s not a matter of consciously spelling words out or thinking of where the keys are–my fingers just make these movements and the words appear. If I start to think about what I’m doing or get out of hand/keyboard alignment and have to look down to find a key, then it’s one typo after another. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/34 "2012-01-20T03:06:48Z")
attributed to Katherine Craster: _A centipede was happy quite, Until a frog in fun Said, “Pray tell which leg comes after which?” This raised her mind to such a pitch, She lay distracted in the ditch Not knowing how to run._ ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/35 "2012-01-20T03:36:32Z")
> [@Miss\_Mapp](#): > > Me too. Normally when I’m typing, it’s not a matter of consciously spelling words out or thinking of where the keys are–my fingers just make these movements and the words appear. If I start to think about what I’m doing or get out of hand/keyboard alignment and have to look down to find a key, then it’s one typo after another. Has any of you guys’ fingers declared independence? Some of mine has: mutiny… revolution… declaration of independence… Since about 5 years ago my fingers type words that I have no idea where they came from. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/36 "2012-01-20T04:05:12Z")
I my younger years I was an excellent recreational softball left fielder. I could run, catch and throw with the best of them. But if I stopped to think about it, I would inevitably screw up somehow. I would actually _lose_ focus when I tried to focus. It was a weird, zen kind of thing that always worked best when I just went with the flow and had fun. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/37 "2012-01-20T10:16:50Z")
What you are talking about is what lies behind experienced athlete’s choking. By concentrating on an action or activity in a purely logical way they turn themselves back into someone unskilled and learning their craft. Nicely explained [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/front_page/13185266.stm) by Matthew Syed who, in his book \*Bounce \* discusses his own experience of it at the Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/38 "2012-01-20T10:34:15Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > I play the piano, but very much the same thing for me. I need to concentrate when I’m learning something, but thereafter, too much thinking about it makes it a lot more difficult to play. It’s very much the same way for any sort of activity where we’ve trained in it enough that we don’t really need to have it in the front of our consciousness. And another musical instance: I had exactly the same experience when I was a teenager practising for my Grade 6 violin exam. There was a very complex run of slurred demisemiquavers in 5th position, and I could do it like a breeze, over and over again. Then one time I ‘stepped outside’ while I was playing it, and thought “wow I’m great” then “how do I do that?” End of the ability to do it. I even fucked it up in the exam. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/39 "2012-01-20T16:18:55Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > I would actually _lose_ focus when I tried to focus. That sometimes happens to me when I’m talking to someone. “So the other day I was talkin to Bob, and you know what he said?” (This is the part where I tell the funny punchline. Oh man, this is going to be great. What was the punchline? Oh shit, I forgot. What was I talking about? Uh oh, I’m locked up. And this person is staring at me, expecting me to say something clever. And now I can’t think about what I’m supposed to say, because I’m preoccupied with being stuck. Oh oh, now I’m noticing my self noticing that I’m stuck. And now I’m noticing myself noticing myself noticing that I’m stuck. And this person is still staring at me. And now I’m noticing that I’m embarassed because I look like a damn fool.) “Uh… nevermind?” ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021/40 "2012-01-20T19:06:39Z")
Back in the Mesozoic, when I was in a bowling league, someone discovered that the best way to mess someone up was to ask them, “Do you inhale or exhale as you release the ball?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-lose-a-skill-by-thinking-about-it/610021.md?page=3)