WEBVTT - Strengthen a memory 

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that you can actively strengthen a memory.

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<v Speaker 1>If there is a pleasant spot in your past you'd

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<v Speaker 1>like to think about more often, or even if you

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<v Speaker 1>know something good is coming up, you can secure its

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<v Speaker 1>place in your thoughts, which is preferable to dwelling on

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<v Speaker 1>bad memories or future worries. Life is made up of memories,

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<v Speaker 1>but many of us have a faulty impression of how

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<v Speaker 1>memory works. We think it's like a filing cabinet. Things

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<v Speaker 1>go in basically as they happen, and though they may

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<v Speaker 1>fade with age, they are basically there as they were,

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<v Speaker 1>But in fact the situation is more co located. It

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<v Speaker 1>is well known that memories can be planted when they

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<v Speaker 1>seem convincing. There's also some fascinating research that we can

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<v Speaker 1>strengthen memories after the fact when we decide that we

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<v Speaker 1>need them. Perhaps you have seen this in your own life.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone you knew vaguely in the past winds up

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<v Speaker 1>in the news for some reason, you find yourself remembering

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<v Speaker 1>a lot more details of your encounters than you ever

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<v Speaker 1>would have had reason to recount otherwise, that quirk of

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<v Speaker 1>memory is neither here nor there. The reason this is

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<v Speaker 1>useful knowledge is that when we know memories can be

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<v Speaker 1>shaped and made more polished, we can take active steps

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<v Speaker 1>to do that. With good memories, we can think of

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<v Speaker 1>memory as more of a garden than a filing cabinet.

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<v Speaker 1>When we actively choose to cultivate certain plants, they flourish

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<v Speaker 1>and become the dominant thing we see whenever we visit.

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<v Speaker 1>Here is how this works. Think of a recent happy memory,

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<v Speaker 1>really try to think about it. Think about your senses.

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<v Speaker 1>What were you seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, Think through

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<v Speaker 1>the sequence of events. Think about how you would recount

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<v Speaker 1>the story if you took photos. Look at those photos

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<v Speaker 1>and try telling the story while using the photos to

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<v Speaker 1>nudge your memory. Write the story down in a journal.

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<v Speaker 1>Tell someone else about the experience. If someone was with you,

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<v Speaker 1>make a point of talking about the experience with them.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk about it multiple times. If you have any artifacts

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<v Speaker 1>from the experience, you know souvenirs, concert t shirts, look

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<v Speaker 1>at those. If there is a way to revisit parts

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<v Speaker 1>of the experience again, like listening to a song from

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<v Speaker 1>that time, or making a recipe. Do that, and as

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<v Speaker 1>you do, think of the memory again. As an example,

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<v Speaker 1>I've been trying to do this with a recent little

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<v Speaker 1>adventure I had with my eleven year old son. We

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<v Speaker 1>drove to a nearby tulip farm. Together. He picked twenty

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<v Speaker 1>tulips to bring home. We got lobster rules from a

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<v Speaker 1>food truck that was parked by the farm, and we

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<v Speaker 1>sat in the grass and ate them together. They were

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<v Speaker 1>really incredible lobster rolls. Now, it wasn't a life altering event,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was very pleasant, and so I've been thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about the colors of the tulip field. I remember the

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<v Speaker 1>smell of the dust in the parking lot. I remember

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<v Speaker 1>the smell of spring flowers, and the cool feel of

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<v Speaker 1>the grass, and the sweet taste of lobster on a

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<v Speaker 1>buttered roll. I remember my son's exclamation of how good

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<v Speaker 1>the roll tasted. I took pictures and looked at the

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<v Speaker 1>pictures afterwards. He and I talked about it. I looked

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<v Speaker 1>at the tulips and vases on my kitchen counter. Those

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<v Speaker 1>will wilt soon, I know, but I can linger and

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<v Speaker 1>look at them now. And of course he and I

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<v Speaker 1>have mapped that lobster food trucks, schedule to see if

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<v Speaker 1>we can get rules again in the future, which will

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<v Speaker 1>cement the Saturday afternoon at the tulip farm into our

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<v Speaker 1>memories even more, All of this can make a memory brighter.

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<v Speaker 1>It can make a particular memory sparkle like a spring tulip.

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<v Speaker 1>You could do this with any good memory, and this

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<v Speaker 1>works prospectively too. When you know a good event is

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<v Speaker 1>coming up, you can take steps to make sure the

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<v Speaker 1>memory will stand out. Talk about what's going on with

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<v Speaker 1>the people who are there with you, find some sort

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<v Speaker 1>of artifact, make sure you are paying attend chin, taking

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<v Speaker 1>mental notes, and being fully aware. How will you recount

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<v Speaker 1>this story, and then make plans to recall this memory afterwards.

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<v Speaker 1>The more you do, the stronger the memory becomes. Dwelling

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<v Speaker 1>in the past gets a bad reputation, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>there is much to recommend it. Dwelling on a happy

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<v Speaker 1>memory is often better than worrying about the present. It

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<v Speaker 1>is definitely better than dwelling on bad memories, which we

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<v Speaker 1>can be want to do. Do yourself a favor and

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<v Speaker 1>cultivate the garden. Life will feel better as a result.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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