How often do you hear people complain about the fact that they don't have a "good memory"? They say things like "If I had a good memory my life would be so much easier" or "don't ask me to remember anything because I can't even remember what I did yesterday!" But how often do people take the time to do some memory training and learn how their memory actually works?
Does this sound like you? Are you someone that complains about your memory but doesn't make much effort to improve your memory recall? What memory training do you engage in each day? If you only had to spend 5 minutes a day doing memory training activities to improve your memory, would you do it?
The fact is that your memory behaves exactly as it is supposed to behave. The real problem is that we don't bother to take the time to understand how our memory works and therefore how to make remembering information much easier for ourselves. So listen up. The trick to improved memory recall is quite simple. You must move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. And that's it!
Imagine being able to recall what you did two months ago (or even two years ago) in detail. Imagine being able to read through a text book and remember all of the main points you read. Imagine being able to remember everything the teacher said to you during class. It would be pretty amazing wouldn't it! But in order to do that you first need to understand the five pillars of memory.
Pillar One - Association. Your memory finds it much easier to recall events or experiences when you associate it with something you are already familiar with. How often do you hear someone say (for example) "Oh yes, I remember that day well because that was the day I got my hair cut at a new hairdresser." Linking things together through association is extremely powerful. So start associating everything you want to remember today!
Pillar Two - Imagery. Your memory recalls events and experiences as images and pictures. It's like you have a movie maker rolling in your head ready to snap up the next big event. Even as you read these words your mind is creating images to store what you are reading as memories! So if you want to recall information or events easily you must create a real (i.e. draw a picture) or mental picture. It will far easier to remember a picture than remember anything else (including written words).
Pillar Three - Time. As we are all aware, memories fade over time and our memory recalls recent events much quicker and easier than experiences that occurred a long time ago - especially when they are not particularly interesting or unique events. If you really want to recall an experience you need to move it to your long-term memory as quickly as you can by using association or imagery techniques. If you don't you may find the experience is very hard to recall. The longer you leave it, the less your chance of recalling it later.
Pillar Four - Repetition. Have you ever noticed that information you easily recalled some time ago but then stopped using is very difficult to recall now? Names of television shows you liked as a child, passwords for applications you haven't used for a while or addresses that you previously lived at are all examples of this pillar at work. So if you want to remember something you must ensure that you re-live or repeat the memory consistently over time. For example, if you want to learn a new language you must engage in learning as regularly as possible. If you learn ten new Spanish words today and then come back to them a week later you will find you have forgotten at least some (if not all) of the words you already learnt!
Pillar Five - Emotion. Have you noticed how emotional events can be remembered in great detail? This is because your mind will move intense, shocking and strange occurrences to your long-term memory automatically. This is because these types of events or experiences give a cue to the memory that they should be moved to your long-term memory. Therefore, if you want to remember something you need to add some emotion, intensity or weirdness to it! But be warned, if you make the memory negatively emotional there is a chance your memory will block some, most or all of the memory out - so always choose positive emotion rather than negative.
You can now see that even with a very small amount of memory training and awareness of how your memory recall works your memory can be greatly improved. Keep in mind that by applying the five pillars you will be actively seeking to move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This is the essence of powerful memory recall ability. Good luck!
Does this sound like you? Are you someone that complains about your memory but doesn't make much effort to improve your memory recall? What memory training do you engage in each day? If you only had to spend 5 minutes a day doing memory training activities to improve your memory, would you do it?
The fact is that your memory behaves exactly as it is supposed to behave. The real problem is that we don't bother to take the time to understand how our memory works and therefore how to make remembering information much easier for ourselves. So listen up. The trick to improved memory recall is quite simple. You must move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. And that's it!
Imagine being able to recall what you did two months ago (or even two years ago) in detail. Imagine being able to read through a text book and remember all of the main points you read. Imagine being able to remember everything the teacher said to you during class. It would be pretty amazing wouldn't it! But in order to do that you first need to understand the five pillars of memory.
Pillar One - Association. Your memory finds it much easier to recall events or experiences when you associate it with something you are already familiar with. How often do you hear someone say (for example) "Oh yes, I remember that day well because that was the day I got my hair cut at a new hairdresser." Linking things together through association is extremely powerful. So start associating everything you want to remember today!
Pillar Two - Imagery. Your memory recalls events and experiences as images and pictures. It's like you have a movie maker rolling in your head ready to snap up the next big event. Even as you read these words your mind is creating images to store what you are reading as memories! So if you want to recall information or events easily you must create a real (i.e. draw a picture) or mental picture. It will far easier to remember a picture than remember anything else (including written words).
Pillar Three - Time. As we are all aware, memories fade over time and our memory recalls recent events much quicker and easier than experiences that occurred a long time ago - especially when they are not particularly interesting or unique events. If you really want to recall an experience you need to move it to your long-term memory as quickly as you can by using association or imagery techniques. If you don't you may find the experience is very hard to recall. The longer you leave it, the less your chance of recalling it later.
Pillar Four - Repetition. Have you ever noticed that information you easily recalled some time ago but then stopped using is very difficult to recall now? Names of television shows you liked as a child, passwords for applications you haven't used for a while or addresses that you previously lived at are all examples of this pillar at work. So if you want to remember something you must ensure that you re-live or repeat the memory consistently over time. For example, if you want to learn a new language you must engage in learning as regularly as possible. If you learn ten new Spanish words today and then come back to them a week later you will find you have forgotten at least some (if not all) of the words you already learnt!
Pillar Five - Emotion. Have you noticed how emotional events can be remembered in great detail? This is because your mind will move intense, shocking and strange occurrences to your long-term memory automatically. This is because these types of events or experiences give a cue to the memory that they should be moved to your long-term memory. Therefore, if you want to remember something you need to add some emotion, intensity or weirdness to it! But be warned, if you make the memory negatively emotional there is a chance your memory will block some, most or all of the memory out - so always choose positive emotion rather than negative.
You can now see that even with a very small amount of memory training and awareness of how your memory recall works your memory can be greatly improved. Keep in mind that by applying the five pillars you will be actively seeking to move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. This is the essence of powerful memory recall ability. Good luck!
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