In the groove

Yesterday I read this fascinating article in Runner's World about how to tie your shoes properly. There's also a great video on this website to show you how to tie a reef knot rather than a granny knot. (The one on the left is a reef knot; the one on the right a granny knot.)

The thing I found really interesting is that I couldn't decide which way I tied my shoes until I put a pair on and watched how I tied them. Yep, reef knot. I've never had a problem with my shoes coming untied, but I had to watch the video and re-tie my shoes several times before I could be SURE I was doing it right.

What I realized in the process is that I never think about how to tie my shoes, I just do it. The process is so deeply ingrained that it seemed it would be almost impossible to re-learn how to tie my shoes. The Runner's World article originally came to me through an editorial on the New York Times entitled "Sometimes the Smallest Things" by a guy who had been doing it wrong all his life and learned how to change it.

I watched Smart Guy tie his shoes. He does it entirely differently than I do, but he also ties a reef knot. How about you? And how does one get out of such a deeply ingrained groove in order to change it?
:-)