Can’t Memorize Anything? Why Your Memory Stinks

If you're like everybody I know and their grandma, you feel that your memory stinks. You can't even memorize your grocery list - and when you're finally done shopping, you've got no idea where you parked the car. If you're lucky, you don't mix up the names of your two youngest ones, who you've left and forgotten in the back seat.

But Do You Know Why Your Memory Acts Like A Rebellious Teenager?

Now, before we delve into the intricacies of memory and the science of memorizing, let's perform a tiny experiment.

Okay, do this. Try and see if you can recall the incidents of the same day as today, one week ago.

Stop reading this article, look away from the computer, and try recalling what you did exactly one week ago. Do it now.

How much could you remember?

Now try this. How about yesterday? How much can you remember from yesterday?

Most people hardly remember anything from last week, and only some occurrences from yesterday.

What would your situation be like if you where to testify in court, regarding the happenings of the previous day, or the day of the week before?

A bad place for you to be?

But relax. It's not your fault. You've never been trained on how to use your memory properly. That's why you don't know how to memorize things.

Where Is My Cow's Ears?

So here's a secret:

For most people, the problem does not lie within memory. Sure, we blame our bad memory, but usually, that's not the real problem.

The real problem is with attention. We are used to not paying attention to so many things! How can we remember something if we did not really attend to it in the first place? The answer: We can't.

Don't believe me? Okay:

Do you know whether a cow's ears are above, below, behind, or in front of her horns?

Where are they?

Would you bet me a hundred dollars on that?

Try this one. Have you ever seen cats climb trees and descend them? Now, do they come down head or tails first?

If you answered head first, then think about the shape of the claws!

Tearing Up Your Business Papers

The reason for this failure to easily remember the events of yesterday and last week is to be found in the fact that you have made no effort at the time to impress these happenings upon your subconscious mentality. You allowed them to pass from your attention like the proverbial water from the ducks back. You did not want to be bothered with the recollection of trifles. So you made the mistake of failing to store them away.

There is a vast difference between dwelling on the past, and storing away past records for possible future reference. To allow the records of each day to be destroyed is like tearing up the important business papers in an office in order to avoid giving them a little space in the files.

Now why on Earth would you want to do that?