Friday 17 May 2013

Memory Training: Unlock Your Memory Recall By Thinking About Yourself

By Lachlan Haynes


The ability to remember a vast amount of data and information is vital to students and can truly be the difference between passing and failing a subject. So it's no wonder that there is so much focus on maximizing our memory ability!

But how many students actually take the time to understand how their memory works? We'd all love a brilliant memory but we spend very little time (if any) using the techniques that make this possible. Don't you ever wonder why you can remember lots of seemingly useless information but when it comes time to recall all that information you learnt in science class during the year you can't remember a thing?

The reality is that our memory is perfect in design and it operates exactly as it should. The real issue is that we don't spend any time getting to know our memory and finding out what we can do to help it remember with precision.

For some reason, we expect to be able to recall information at will (usually just by constantly repeating the word or re-reading the information we want to remember) without any understanding of how memory recall even works. As a result, the way we approach memory recall is usually quite dumb.

Accessing the amazing power of your memory is about understanding how it works and then using that information to ensure you can remember whatever you want to remember.

There are many ways to increase the power of your memory recall. This article looks at just one - the "All about me" technique. The rule of this technique is that when you make something about you, the ability to remember the information is drastically increased.

When it comes to memory, your brain always wants to know "How does this relate to me?" or put even more simply "Why should I even bother storing this as a memory?"

The fact is, if something seems important to you personally, you will be more likely to remember it - and you'll also remember it more vividly and in far greater detail.

It makes sense doesn't it? You remember things that impact you. You remember to buy a ticket to see that band you like. You remember the number of the bus you need to catch today. You remember the names of those people whose names you wouldn't dare forget. You remember exactly what that girl or guy you like said to you the first time you met. The point is, when it impacts you and it's important to you, you remember it.

Now, you don't do this recall on a conscious basis, it just happens automatically. You simply called up the information and because it was important and relevant to you, it was easy to retrieve. However, the real question I'm sure you are wondering is how do we apply this rule of memory to our studies? Well, you simple need to think about how whatever you are trying to learn or remember relates to you and your life. Let's look at some examples.

In economics you learn about trends. Trends impact purchase power of individuals. Purchase power impacts your ability to go and that new pair of shoes you really want. So, does it make it easier to understand economic trends when you understand how it impacts you?

If you are learning about other countries with different religions, beliefs and customs, think about those ideals differ from your own and also how those ideals could also be common to you.

If you are trying to remember names and dates just focus on how do these names and dates relate to you. Ask yourself, "Do I know anyone by those or similar names? Do I like the name for some reason or do I think it's a weird name? Why is that? Did the people or dates that I have to remember ever impact my life in any way? Did anything happen on those dates that relates to me personally?"

Remember, it's all about you! The more you tie something to yourself and make it about you the easier it will be for your memory to create the traces needed to make memory recall a breeze. Try it for a week. You will be glad you did!




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