Were there ever occasions whereby you FORGOT something, either a very important matter or a minor request, how did the other person feel ? Was he/she very disappointed and hurt by your poor memory ? If it was a business appointment, how would you feel if the sale was lost ? Disappointed ?
The elephant never forgets, yet it actually doesn’t know how to be selective or how to manage its memory, while human beings have the ability to keep the important and let go of those not important. People need to remember for many reasons and also need to remember the right things at the right time. We can choose to manage our memory and it would help you in opening opportunities and gateways.
There were 10 Memory-Management Rules by Joe Girard –
(1) Open an account in your memory bank – Your memory is just like a bank, manage it as carefully and wisely as how you manage your finances. Imagine yourself just like that you are at the bank when arriving at your memory bank, deposit your memories, withdraw your memories and make it a greater effort to manage and control your memories. Remember, there is a federal agency to insure you, and the agency is YOU.
(2) Don’t bank trivia – Trivia is clutter, keep it out of your memory bank. Fill up your memory bank with good books and great music, as they don’t clutter your mind.
(3) Clean the slate daily – Keep the mind a clean slate, make it ready to receive new and important information. We tend to remember the good things and wipe out slate clean of the bad. Wash off the blackboard like a child, remember the blessings when you were a child, with a clean slate of mind. The new things you put in there would be so much better.
(4) Use word association – Find words that allows you to associate one thing with another. It helps you to manage your memories, ideal for remembering names, places and faces. Colours, flowers and combination of colours are also helpful to help in remembering names and places.
(5) Don’t trust your memory – Memory loves to play tricks on you and the jokes always falls on you, therefore, manage your memories, not trusting it. Don’t let your memory fools you, always write down the things you need to do. Always have a small portable calender with you to mark down today’s appointment, tomorrow’s appointment and other things to do.
(6) Don’t muddle your memory – Don’t get things mixed up in your memory, don’t confuse it. Always ask yourself WHY you must remember something. The WHY is your memory bank account number. The next key point is What is the MOST Important thing to remember ? Always remember to manage your memory and not muddle your memory.
(7) Avoid memory traps – At times, we forgot what we said last time and this was usually due to not telling the truth. It would be easier to remember to tell the truth than to remember a lie. Always follow the golden rule, Tell the Truth, don’t dig your own memory traps.
(8) Put repetition to work – An excellent technique to help you remember names, dates, faces, places and many other things. Ask again, repeat it out loud, put the repetition to work.
(9) Keep your mind busy – By keeping your mind busy, instead of an unused mind, idle mind, it will help you to get your mind working quickly. When you recall saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, it means that you forgot the right thing and the right time and your mind is not ready at all. Keep your mind occupied and busy. The busier you become, the better worker you become. Always exercise your memories and with that training, your memory will grow and develop.
(10) Remember to forget – One of the most important rules to managing your memory, a technique that “brooms” from your mind all the petty things that gets in your path to be the best that you can be. A person who stores up every hurt, every unpleasant memory, every anger, will soon reflect bitterness. It is easy to return insult for insult, nurse hurt feelings and to bear grudges, this will only result in you being a smaller person. “Broom” it away and Remember to FORGET.
I personally find Rule 10 very significant and important, how many of us had and still been holding and bottling up hurt, pain, bad memories and experiences and reflecting bitterness, anger and insult to your loved ones and friends ? You can start to change and be a better person to broom it away and remember to forget.
Remember the 10 Golden Rules to Manage Your Memory !
(Adapted from “How to SELL Yourself”, Chapter EIGHT: Managing Your Memory, by Joe Girard)