This month, I came across Jim Kwik’s video on YouTube where he engaged the audience on lessons on how to unleash their super brain and suddenly, I was awestruck with his teachings. One of the biggest takeaways I got from him is that it is possible to train your mind to have better memory and I would love to share some of those here.
Emotion + Information = Long Term Memory
We all have that song that can take us back to a place in time (for me it’s 2000’s R&B songs like Usher’s Confession II or Mario’s Let Me Love You that brings back memories clear as day) or a scent, or maybe certain comfort foods that can trigger old memories. This is because we invested our emotions through these sources of information and that has created a long term memory. The opposite holds true that when we’re at school or at work in a meeting, we’re most likely feeling either tired, bored, or confused and when we’re in that state of emotion, the information that is being presented most likely will not retain.
The key to having long term memory and being able to absorb information better is to get your brain to be in that state of mind where you are curious, interested, and focused. That’s why children normally learn the most in the shortest amount of time, because they’re naturally curious.
Build Your Brain by Having a Better Conscience
Have you ever said “Oh, I am terrible with names” or “The age is kicking in, I can’t remember like I used to” or heard someone else say it? Jim Kwik speaks about how a majority of our memory is not genetics and that we can train for better memory. But in order to do so, we have to stop thinking or programming our brains into thinking it has terrible memory because then your brain will begin to believe that.
Which brings us to ‘M O M’
An acronym he teaches is M O M – Motivation, Observation, and Mechanics.
Going back to forgetting names — if someone introduces themselves to you, think of a motivation. For example, if you remember this person’s name for the entirety of the month, you will win $1M or get promoted – with this motivation, you are sure to remember this person’s name. If you have the motivation, you will have the memory.
Being observant or taking in an observation is next. Have you misplaced your keys, phones, or even a car and not remember where you placed it? It’s because you weren’t being observant to the surroundings, maybe multitasking or distracted. By paying attention, being observant, you are less likely to forget.
The last is mechanics – finding the tools that will work best for you. Taking it a step at a time and realizing that techniques will vary person to person.
Hope some of these lessons brought an “ah-ha” moment for you like they did for me. Memory is so important and if we can train our brains to remember a little bit more each day, who knows where that will take us.
Whether it’s spending less time re-reading emails and books because you forgot what you just read. Being that person to remember people’s names, making them feel important, and fostering connections. And being able to no longer walk into a room and forget why you were there in the first place!
Check out Jim Kwik’s blog.
