‘What’s the most ‘use it or lose it’ skill?’ – 23 talents to keep practicing or give up forever

There are some things we learn in life that stay with us forever, and we can keep doing them until we become too old or infirm, even if we neglect them for a while. And there are some that we need to keep practicing, or we’ll never be able to pick them up again.

They’ve been discussing these fickle talents on the AskReddit page after user ZuluWarlord69 posted this:

What is the most ‘use it or lose it’ skill, the opposite of ‘it’s just like riding a bike’?

And lots of people chimed in with their thoughts, like these…

1.

‘Morse code. I remember a few letters but it just sounds like beeps now.’
–meatyylegend

2.

‘As a former gymnast: Flexibility. Strength is easier to keep around and less obvious as it leaves but before you know it you’re trying to show your niece a cartwheel and need to walk it off playing cool while dying inside since you just pulled a hammy.’
–vundercal

3.

‘Flying a plane. After a month off your landings are going to feel pretty rough. After a year off you need at least a few flights with an instructor before it’s safe to be flying again.’
–Mimshot

4.

‘I recently looked at a spreadsheet I coded like six years ago after immersing and learning to do it. I have no idea what the expressions mean!’
–Blecher_onthe_Hudson

5.

‘Boxing. It may surprise people but learning to box is really teaching your mind to ignore your natural instincts when in a fight. You’re ignoring adrenaline, anger, fear, etc while trying to keep up a technique. Once you stop sparring for a period of time, you have to relearn how to control that all over again.’
–Rainliberty

6.

‘Languages. People can even struggle with their mother tongue if they go long enough without using it.’
–sunbearimon

7.

‘Strangely, the answer is plain old ‘balance’, especially as you get older. You can actually lose your sense of balance. Recent evidence suggests that balance is a mix of visual cues, input from the balance mechanisms in the ear, and proprioception sensors in the body.’
–loud-spider

8.

‘Chess, you don’t fully lose it but you definitely regress massively.’
–DanTheDelight1

9.

‘Playing a musical instrument at a high level. You can tell a difference from missing a single day of practice.’
–MusicNo8256

10.

‘Muscle strength. As anyone who has been bedridden for a long period of time will attest.’
–Ludicolorad0

11.

‘Getting up off the floor. Losing that ability literally costs people their lives, yet no one talks about keeping in regular practice.’
–Utisthata

12.

‘Surprisingly, gaming. I took an extended break from gaming due to life, then came back into it much slower than I previously was. I used to compete in shooters, but now I’m getting wiped by people I used to consider a newbie. Applies to game knowledge too.’
–Hehe_ur_gey