Do more with less memory

Chapter 2 What exactly is memory (1)
In daily life, the things we have seen, the people we have met, the words we have said, and the things we have done will leave certain imprints in our brains. Although some of them are quickly forgotten, others are unforgettable and unforgettable for a lifetime.All of these stem from the memory function of the brain.So, what exactly is memory?

Simply put, memory is a function we use to remember things.It is an inherent function of the brain, which everyone has. It starts with the beginning of life and dies with the end of life.

For example, in a certain competition, someone asks you: "What year did the Second World War happen?" You will answer without hesitation: "1939" just like you know that the capital of China is Beijing, remember clearly Clearly... a memory that allows you to recreate an event in your mind that you experienced.For example, the country town you visited on your last vacation; a place of interest you visited a long time ago; Re-emerge in your mind - all thanks to the amazing function of memory.

Memory plays an extremely important role in a person's successful life.The specific performance is:

1. Memory builds bridges for us to connect things

Most of our actions are not instantaneous, but last for a while.For example, reading a certain sentence in an article in a newspaper is not an act that can be completed instantaneously.Therefore, when reading, we need the help of memory to constantly recall what the word before the word we are reading is, otherwise we will not be able to understand the meaning of the entire sentence!
For another example, when you go to the market to buy things, you will first go around and look at all the products, and then go to the products that are on sale that day to compare which ones are really good and cheap.At this time, you have stored a lot of information in your brain without knowing it.This information will provide you with relevant help when you need it, and it will automatically provide us with any information we need for our actions.

2. Memory is an information repository with unlimited capacity
Memory is an information repository, and its capacity is unlimited. As long as you want, you can actively store various information in it.For example, in school, we spend a lot of time learning various scientific and cultural knowledge every day. At this time, memory becomes your knowledge warehouse.And in adulthood, we still need to learn to remember many things - the lyrics of a song, a play, a foreign language, the names of colleagues, outlines prepared for meetings, and even a large list of numbers...adults I will deal with the task of memory more or less happily, and store sentences, strings of numbers, and even some gestures in the memory bank of my brain.

3. Memory is the basic prerequisite for the success of all our careers
Can you imagine what would a person look like if they lacked memory?Probably the most appropriate metaphor is "idiot".If our brain information is blank, no matter what we do, we will accomplish nothing.Especially in today's rapidly developing information age, if we want to achieve any business, we must first possess enough information in all aspects, and this must be based on a good memory function.In this sense, we should not only make full use of our memory, but also fully tap its potential so that it can play a greater role and bring us more success, happiness and joy.Memory is not only a kind of wealth in itself, but also can promote the development of other functions of the brain and keep people young forever.

test your memory

Let's do a little quiz first to see how your memory is?Is it very good, or do I have to constantly rely on a little note pad or other similar "reminder tool"?
1. Before going to bed one night, without any planning or preparation, decide to recall everything that happened every hour of the day.Recall the scene in as much detail as possible, then write down in a notebook what you recall:

One can recall everything that happened that day, and even the details are very clear: 3 points;
——I can recall it in general, but some details are vague:
2 points;
- Some episodes have been completely forgotten: 1 point.

Waking up the next morning, I decided again that night that I was going to recall everything that happened that day. (Of course, don't write these things down!) At night before going to bed, repeat the test from the previous night, writing down what you recall:

— Can recall everything that happened that day in great detail:
3 points;
——I can recall it in general, but some details are vague:
2 points;
One place or several places have been completely forgotten: 1 point.

2. Before going to bed one night, decide to recall the three people you met that day (colleagues, or customers, or shop assistants...), try to recall in detail what each person was dressed in, and then write down your own memories :
- All situations can be recalled clearly: 3 points;
——I can recall in general, some details are not very clear: 2 points; ——I can’t recall some details (such as the color of clothes): 1 point;
——No impression at all: 0 points.

The next day, remind yourself to look carefully at the three people you meet and what they are wearing.Recall these scenarios at night and record your scores:

There is no difficulty in remembering, and all the scenes are vivid:

3 points;
- Can recall some details, but not quite sure: 2 points;
- can't remember some important details: 1 point;
- Hardly any impression: 0 points.

3. Before going to bed one night, try to recall what news was in the newspaper you read or on TV that day, and then record your score:
——I remember everything clearly: 3 points;
- only remember all the headlines, but the content has been completely forgotten: 2 points;
——There is a big title that I can't remember: 1 point.

When reading the newspaper or watching TV the next day, remember to remind yourself to read it carefully.In the evening, continue to recall the newspaper and TV content of the day, and record your own score:

- Can remember everything clearly: 3 points;
——Can remember all the headlines, but some contents are already blurred: 2 points; ——Can’t recall one headline: 1 point.

Evaluation This is not a "psychological test" in the true sense, but to provide you with a way to observe yourself and talk to yourself, so that you can better understand yourself.

After taking these three sets of tests, compare the scores you recorded at that time:
-If there is a large difference between completely random recall and reminded, prepared recall, it means that if you don't remember to remind yourself to pay attention to the things around you, you will live like a robot!However, as long as you pay attention to things, you can recall everything perfectly-your brain is asking to function better.

- If there is little difference between completely random recalls and reminded and prepared recalls, then there is something wrong with your memory function.It may be because you don't know how to see and hear correctly, even if you consciously remind yourself; gone; it could also be because you can't keep your attention on the same thing for a long time.

In order to make the memory function of the brain more effective, we need to master the state of the brain cells that constitute the memory function of the brain, that is, the three basic processes of the brain-memory, retention and reproduction (recall).

The first step: remember.

Memorizing -- or noticing -- means paying attention to something beyond just a cursory glance.

In our daily life, we are carrying out the activities of transmitting external information to the brain all the time, so it is easy to form the habit of taking a look at the things around us and continuing on our way.But how can we possibly remember things that don't actually attract attention at all?Any memory process begins with memorization of things: children do this instinctively; for adults, it only takes a glance and a little brain to recognize things.However, just being able to memorize something does not necessarily mean being able to remember it. We must also adopt the serious attitude of childhood to observe closely and listen carefully.

Step Two: Keep it up.

To keep something in memory requires a forced hold.The so-called forced retention is to establish a connection between what we have memorized and what has been retained in memory; that is to say, to produce some kind of association, or even multiple associations.The closer this association is, the easier it is for things that have just been memorized to remain in memory for a long time.

But relying on such associations alone is not enough.You have to classify this noun so that you can find it easily next time, just like classifying books in a library!Otherwise, you may have it in memory but not be able to recall it when you need to use it.Just imagine, if the books in the library are not classified, how can you find the one you want from the thousands of books on the bookshelf?And the information stored in your memory bank is not only tens of thousands, but probably millions or hundreds of millions... In fact, all activities, whether simple or complex, whether they are only carried out in the morning Or only at night, whether we do it alone or with friends, we can automatically classify these memorized content or behaviors without even thinking about it.

Because this is already a habitual behavior of the brain, as long as we think of these contents, the brain can do it automatically!

So, we need to repeat!Of course, this kind of repetition cannot be carried out mechanically like children memorizing multiplication formulas, but should be carried out by talking with others frequently or constantly recalling the information related to it.The oldest memories in the brain tend to be the deepest, because we often recall them over and over many years—a consequence of frequent repetition.

The third step: reproduction (memory).

Recalling doesn't happen automatically in the brain.

(End of this chapter)