A superior memory is what elevates the exceptional person up the ladder of success. It’s that person who uses his or her mind creatively in a way that stands out and helps them make their mark. A good memory can also help you be more productive and be less stressed. Plus a good memory can help you in your social game too! There are factors that help develop a good memory and none of it has to do with heredity factors or a misplaced education.
1. An Organized Mind
Many people believe they have a poor memory and can’t do anything to change it. However, they can rattle off endless statistics about their favorite hockey team but fail to remember where they placed their keys. They simply have a mind that’s disorganized.
Throughout the day, thousands of thoughts cross their minds, most of which have no meaning or purpose. In order to remember anything, it’s necessary to discipline those thoughts to think in logical patterns. An organized mind is better able to retain important information.
2. The Right Kind of Information
The mind doesn’t differentiate between what needs to be remembered and what is trivial. We tend to clutter up the mind with garbage that has no relevance to life nor advances it in any way. Unless your career depends on gathering information, there’s little point to learn the facts of every baseball player who ever lived.
3. Exercising the Mind
The mind, like the body, needs to be used. It must be exercised if it is to stay sharp. Unfortunately, many let their minds atrophy. They don’t use the power and the ability of the mind to solve problems. They react, rather than think through problems. This inability to exercise the gray matter is largely responsible for the inability to recall anything when it’s needed.
4. Paying Attention
Most people forget simply because they never took time to remember in the first place. It takes effort to focus on where you place those keys. The mind wanders in a different direction just as those keys are laid down. You’re simply not in the present moment, unaware of your actions.
The only way you can forget anything is if you did remember something that you no longer can recall. Forgetfulness is the result of age or disease such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.
5. Retaining the Facts
Many people can remember an encyclopedia of facts, though what they know has little impact on their careers. The importance of memory is to store vital knowledge that has a bearing on your future success. Anything not related to your life’s purpose doesn’t require you to waste time trying to clutter your mind with useless trivia.
6. Mind health
If your diet consists of processed food loaded with sugar, fat, and empty calories, your mind won’t be as sharp as it should be and you’ll find it difficult to remember anything. Eating a proper diet, getting in enough exercise and sleep, and eliminating bad habits like smoking will keep the mind sharp so you can remember what needs to be learned. Once you eliminate the bad habits, you’ll find your memory automatically improving.
If you are looking for help to develop your memory, here are some tips on improving memory from Jim Kwik, an expert on memory.
