How many people do you know that complain about having a "bad memory"? You know the people I'm talking about. The ones that constantly talk about how they would do so much better if they could remember things more easily! But how many of those people spend even a small amount of time doing some memory training so they can understand how their memory works?
What would having a "good memory" mean to you? Would it mean that you could always remember people's names? Would it mean that you can remember everything you need to know for that test that's coming up soon? Or would it mean that you can remember everything that ever happens - like those people you saw on television that have photographic memories?
In reality, our memory does exactly what it is supposed to do. It stores information. The question you need answered is how does our mind retrieve the information we want? Well, the key is actually all about moving memories. That's right, moving them. You need to actively move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.
How happy would you be if you could remember all of the information you needed to ace a test? What if you could remember the name of every person you ever met? Would life be easier for you if you could remember everything? It would be awesome wouldn't it! Well to achieve that level of memory mastery you first need to learn and understand the five pillars of memory.
Pillar One - Association. Your memory really likes grouping things together. So, if you want to remember something vividly you should associate it with something that is already familiar to you. People regularly say things like "I remember that day because this also happened on that day as well!" Why do you think that might be? It's because when we associate and group things together our mind finds it much easier to store and recall the memory.
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 you would expect, your memories will weaken the more time passes by. For example, you can probably remember what you did yesterday but you will find it much harder to recall what you did on this day one year ago. If you allow time to pass by and don't give your mind any reason to store a memory (by using association or imagery) it will just become a blur. So to remember something you must actively recall it straight away and give your mind a good reason to store it in your long-term memory.
Pillar Four - Repetition. Ever noticed that you forget your password when you haven't logged in to your account for a while? What about forgetting names of people you knew years ago? Things you easily remembered some time ago can quickly be forgotten when we don't keep using the memory. The more you repeat the experience of what you want to remember, the more easily you will move it into your long term memory (and remember it!)
Pillar Five - Intensity. When an experience is intense, shocking or downright strange you are far more likely to recall it. Most people can recall where they were when important world events occurred but how many people can recall where they were two days later? The point is, if you want to remember something you need to give your mind a reason to remember it. Use intensity, shock or weirdness to make your memories more vivid and the memories will move to your long term memory.
Memory training is the best way to improve your memory recall ability. By spending a couple of minutes today reading this you have already accessed the most important part of memory recall - the five pillars. Remember, if you want to recall something, move the memory from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. Memory recall will then become a breeze. Good luck!
What would having a "good memory" mean to you? Would it mean that you could always remember people's names? Would it mean that you can remember everything you need to know for that test that's coming up soon? Or would it mean that you can remember everything that ever happens - like those people you saw on television that have photographic memories?
In reality, our memory does exactly what it is supposed to do. It stores information. The question you need answered is how does our mind retrieve the information we want? Well, the key is actually all about moving memories. That's right, moving them. You need to actively move your memories from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.
How happy would you be if you could remember all of the information you needed to ace a test? What if you could remember the name of every person you ever met? Would life be easier for you if you could remember everything? It would be awesome wouldn't it! Well to achieve that level of memory mastery you first need to learn and understand the five pillars of memory.
Pillar One - Association. Your memory really likes grouping things together. So, if you want to remember something vividly you should associate it with something that is already familiar to you. People regularly say things like "I remember that day because this also happened on that day as well!" Why do you think that might be? It's because when we associate and group things together our mind finds it much easier to store and recall the memory.
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 you would expect, your memories will weaken the more time passes by. For example, you can probably remember what you did yesterday but you will find it much harder to recall what you did on this day one year ago. If you allow time to pass by and don't give your mind any reason to store a memory (by using association or imagery) it will just become a blur. So to remember something you must actively recall it straight away and give your mind a good reason to store it in your long-term memory.
Pillar Four - Repetition. Ever noticed that you forget your password when you haven't logged in to your account for a while? What about forgetting names of people you knew years ago? Things you easily remembered some time ago can quickly be forgotten when we don't keep using the memory. The more you repeat the experience of what you want to remember, the more easily you will move it into your long term memory (and remember it!)
Pillar Five - Intensity. When an experience is intense, shocking or downright strange you are far more likely to recall it. Most people can recall where they were when important world events occurred but how many people can recall where they were two days later? The point is, if you want to remember something you need to give your mind a reason to remember it. Use intensity, shock or weirdness to make your memories more vivid and the memories will move to your long term memory.
Memory training is the best way to improve your memory recall ability. By spending a couple of minutes today reading this you have already accessed the most important part of memory recall - the five pillars. Remember, if you want to recall something, move the memory from your short-term memory to your long-term memory. Memory recall will then become a breeze. Good luck!
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