1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,959 Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you can actively strengthen a memory. 4 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: If there is a pleasant spot in your past you'd 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 1: like to think about more often, or even if you 6 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: know something good is coming up, you can secure its 7 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: place in your thoughts, which is preferable to dwelling on 8 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: bad memories or future worries. Life is made up of memories, 9 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: but many of us have a faulty impression of how 10 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: memory works. We think it's like a filing cabinet. Things 11 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: go in basically as they happen, and though they may 12 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: fade with age, they are basically there as they were, 13 00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: But in fact the situation is more co located. It 14 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: is well known that memories can be planted when they 15 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: seem convincing. There's also some fascinating research that we can 16 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: strengthen memories after the fact when we decide that we 17 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:17,199 Speaker 1: need them. Perhaps you have seen this in your own life. 18 00:01:17,959 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: If someone you knew vaguely in the past winds up 19 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,679 Speaker 1: in the news for some reason, you find yourself remembering 20 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: a lot more details of your encounters than you ever 21 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 1: would have had reason to recount otherwise, that quirk of 22 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: memory is neither here nor there. The reason this is 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: useful knowledge is that when we know memories can be 24 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 1: shaped and made more polished, we can take active steps 25 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: to do that. With good memories, we can think of 26 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: memory as more of a garden than a filing cabinet. 27 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 1: When we actively choose to cultivate certain plants, they flourish 28 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: and become the dominant thing we see whenever we visit. 29 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: Here is how this works. Think of a recent happy memory, 30 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: really try to think about it. Think about your senses. 31 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:21,160 Speaker 1: What were you seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, Think through 32 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,720 Speaker 1: the sequence of events. Think about how you would recount 33 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:28,799 Speaker 1: the story if you took photos. Look at those photos 34 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: and try telling the story while using the photos to 35 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: nudge your memory. Write the story down in a journal. 36 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: Tell someone else about the experience. If someone was with you, 37 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: make a point of talking about the experience with them. 38 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: Talk about it multiple times. If you have any artifacts 39 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: from the experience, you know souvenirs, concert t shirts, look 40 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: at those. If there is a way to revisit parts 41 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: of the experience again, like listening to a song from 42 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:05,760 Speaker 1: that time, or making a recipe. Do that, and as 43 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: you do, think of the memory again. As an example, 44 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: I've been trying to do this with a recent little 45 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: adventure I had with my eleven year old son. We 46 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: drove to a nearby tulip farm. Together. He picked twenty 47 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: tulips to bring home. We got lobster rules from a 48 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: food truck that was parked by the farm, and we 49 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: sat in the grass and ate them together. They were 50 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:36,000 Speaker 1: really incredible lobster rolls. Now, it wasn't a life altering event, 51 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 1: but it was very pleasant, and so I've been thinking 52 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,800 Speaker 1: about the colors of the tulip field. I remember the 53 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 1: smell of the dust in the parking lot. I remember 54 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,440 Speaker 1: the smell of spring flowers, and the cool feel of 55 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: the grass, and the sweet taste of lobster on a 56 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 1: buttered roll. I remember my son's exclamation of how good 57 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: the roll tasted. I took pictures and looked at the 58 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: pictures afterwards. He and I talked about it. I looked 59 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: at the tulips and vases on my kitchen counter. Those 60 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: will wilt soon, I know, but I can linger and 61 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:18,919 Speaker 1: look at them now. And of course he and I 62 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: have mapped that lobster food trucks, schedule to see if 63 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: we can get rules again in the future, which will 64 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: cement the Saturday afternoon at the tulip farm into our 65 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: memories even more, All of this can make a memory brighter. 66 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,839 Speaker 1: It can make a particular memory sparkle like a spring tulip. 67 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,040 Speaker 1: You could do this with any good memory, and this 68 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: works prospectively too. When you know a good event is 69 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: coming up, you can take steps to make sure the 70 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: memory will stand out. Talk about what's going on with 71 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 1: the people who are there with you, find some sort 72 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: of artifact, make sure you are paying attend chin, taking 73 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 1: mental notes, and being fully aware. How will you recount 74 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:12,200 Speaker 1: this story, and then make plans to recall this memory afterwards. 75 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: The more you do, the stronger the memory becomes. Dwelling 76 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: in the past gets a bad reputation, but I think 77 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: there is much to recommend it. Dwelling on a happy 78 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:28,600 Speaker 1: memory is often better than worrying about the present. It 79 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: is definitely better than dwelling on bad memories, which we 80 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: can be want to do. Do yourself a favor and 81 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:42,159 Speaker 1: cultivate the garden. Life will feel better as a result. 82 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 1: In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening and 83 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:58,839 Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, 84 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me 85 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with 86 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. 87 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D. 88 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,960 Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast 89 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,919 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled 90 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look 91 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production 92 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 93 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 94 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:41,839 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.