Fast-Twitch vs. Slow-Twitch, Reactive vs. Responsive

In high school, conditioning for rowing season, I learned about** slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers in the human body.

Fast-twitch muscle fibers move in extremes but not frequently. So, you can move fast but not go super far. Think: sprints.

Slow-twitch muscle fibers can repeat same thing over and over again. So, you may not be the quickest, but you can go the longest. Think: marathons.

You can train in either direction, but your body is often naturally more talented in one direction. 

SPOILER ALERT: I am not made for sprinting. I can, of course, but I am not winning any foot races. I will however happily walk for hours, even in heat and humidity that chases most people indoors.

I think the same sort of natural inclination exists in the way our mind works too, except we don’t call it fast- and slow-twitch. 

I tend to refer to them as “reactive” and “responsive.”

When you react, you are sprinting towards a result. Even if a creator spends hours crafting a post, it boils down to a split-second reaction in the viewer, usually with only a couple possible options. Think: social media, posts and “likes.”

When you respond, you take your time, repeating the same actions over and over towards...something: finishing a creation, achieving a goal, or some other experience. Someone or a team of someones invest a lot of energy and time into this one thing, and by the time it reaches other people, the possibilities are endless, as myriad and individual as each person who come into contact with that thing. Think: books, novels and non-fiction. 

(Obviously, I am naturally more responsive than reactive. Even my Instagram posts become essays. Including this one.)

You need to operate in both modes at different times. If you are always sprinting through your world, you are going to run out of breath at some point and possibly collapse. If you stand in the middle of the road, pondering the way it’s constructed, as a bus barrels towards you, you are going to get hit. There are situations better suited for reacting and situations better suited for responding. 

However, as a culture, we tend to value reaction over response. More people read social media posts than books. They chase a “quick fix” rather than stopping to consider the context of a particular problem in order to solve its cause as well the issue at hand. 

I find it exhausting when I am constantly invited to react, and I don’t believe I am the only one.

This is why I let my Instagram posts go from brief captions to full-on essays. This is also why I share them, thinking that maybe others might want a change of pace too. 

If you want enough space to allow you to respond rather than react, you have to make room in your life for it. This is as true for writing longer works as it is for solving deeply-entrenched problems. 

You will often be going against the grain of the culture around you. It takes a little rebellion and a lot of dedication. But once you start, it grows easier and easier over time.

Decide for yourself if you want to give it a try. 

Take care, sweet ones.

**Disclaimer: My sister is much better at physiology, anatomy, neuroscience, and generally all things science than I am. Sometimes, when I explain things about science, she will listen politely, and if I ask her if that’s right, she’ll consider and then say, “Basically.” 

I take this to mean that I tend to oversimplify. My interest in science is mainly as a source for metaphor. Keep that in mind whenever I explain something science-y.