When We Train Our Brain to Forget - It Does!!

Many people believe the reason their memory is poor is due to getting older. Age has little to do with the reason these wonderful people forget. The reason people are becoming forgetful is because that is exactly what they are training their brain to do.

There is a common expression in many different languages around the world which is "Don't Forget". We use this often when we are doing our best to remind ourselves of important tasks and when we are being helpful to others. "Don't forget to pick up the milk." "Don't forget to call the doctor." "Don't forget to get this done." Unfortunately, this creates the exact opposite effect and does cause our mind become even more forgetful.

Our brain has an inherent ability to naturally filter information allowing us to focus on a task. For example, when we are at work and are sitting at our computer focused on a particular task, there are many things happening around us. Such stimuli could be, colleagues chatting, the phone ringing, or, perhaps the cars driving past on the street. Because our mind is so focused on the task at hand, we barely hear or pay attention to other things going on around us. If our brain was to absorb every piece of stimuli happening at every moment of every day, we would have a very difficult time functioning. It is for this reason; our brain has been trained to filter what is not important allowing us to complete what is.

When we tell our brain "don't forget" our brain interprets this information as unimportant. When this happens, our brain filters the information, discards it and allows us to forget. Knowing this, it is important to begin training your brain to remember. Do this by changing the words "Don't forget" to "Remember to". "Remember to pick up the milk." "Remember to call the doctor." Saying and thinking "remember" tells our mind the information is important and therefore stores the data for later use.
There is a trick I like to do when I am networking or teaching a class. Many people are amazed by my ability to remember names easily. For most, remembering a face is far easier than remembering a name. As of today, this can be changed. When you meet someone for the first time and you wish to remember their name do this; as you are having a conversation with them, think in your mind, "remember (name here)". From the time you are first introduced to this person, to the point where you walk away, think the words "remember (name here)" three separate times. Make certain to wait a few moments between each thought so as to help solidify the memory. I can say with 99% conviction, you are more likely to remember the person's name! This same technique works for dates and numbers. If there is an important date or phone number you wish to remember and you are unable to write the information down, think "remember (date/number)" three times in your mind and voila you remember. If you choose to train your brain to remember, your mind would be sharp and recall instances with such clarity, others who trained their brain to forget, would be absolutely amazed.

Keep Smiling that gorgeous smile of yours!

Kindest of Regards,

Claire McGeer
President, T.S. Consultingr
Author, "I Believe Therefore I Am"