Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to actively cultivate a memory. We are
Speaker 1: always making memories, but some memories are stronger than others.
Speaker 1: You can bring a memory to mind more frequently by
Speaker 1: consciously choosing something to associate with it so you can
Speaker 1: think about it later whenever you want. I find the
Speaker 1: topic of memory fascinating. Certain smells in particular can become
Speaker 1: associated with particular times. One scent of honeysuckle and I
Speaker 1: think about a honeysuckle perfume that I had in high school.
Speaker 1: Maybe you remember the cologne your grandfather wore and you
Speaker 1: think of him whenever you smell it, Or the smell
Speaker 1: of cinnamon brings to mind your grandmother's house. Music can
Speaker 1: bring up memories, too, reaching certain spots in our brains
Speaker 1: quickly where we remember exactly what we associate the music with.
Speaker 1: That one song will forever conjure up your first love,
Speaker 1: even if that relationship is long in the past. Memories
Speaker 1: make life feel more rich and full. So here's a
Speaker 1: tip for making memories even stronger. Whenever you are going
Speaker 1: into something that you know you are going to want
Speaker 1: to remember, Try to build that association. Choose a scent
Speaker 1: or a song to associate with the time, make sure
Speaker 1: you experience that scent or song frequently. Then for the
Speaker 1: rest of your life, if you wish to conjure up
Speaker 1: that memory, you will have a shortcut to the emotional experience. So,
Speaker 1: for instance, in May, I traveled to Indiana to give
Speaker 1: the commencement address at my old high school. I have
Speaker 1: lots of strong memories from my time at this residential
Speaker 1: school in Muncy, Indiana, but it's not like I go
Speaker 1: back frequently now. May was also when Ed Sheeran's sung
Speaker 1: Castle on the Hill was rising up the charts and
Speaker 1: was being played on the radio all the time. It
Speaker 1: turns out to be a song full of nostalgia for
Speaker 1: going back to the place you are from. So I
Speaker 1: made a point of listening to that song as I
Speaker 1: was traveling to Indiana and walking around those haunts that
Speaker 1: had been a part of my life two decades prior.
Speaker 1: That meant I linked that song with that place, and
Speaker 1: now whenever I hear those opening chords, I am back
Speaker 1: there and reliving that time and linking myself to my
Speaker 1: teenage self, even though that song didn't exist when I
Speaker 1: was a teenager because ed Shearon was a child back
Speaker 1: then when I was actually in high school. Same with
Speaker 1: this wonderful orange shampoo smell. My family traveled to Yosemite
Speaker 1: National Park and all around California in the summer of
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen. It was a wonderful trip full of memories,
Speaker 1: and our hotel in the park had this orange scented soap.
Speaker 1: I made sure to take several of the small travel
Speaker 1: sizes home, and sure enough, when I pull it out,
Speaker 1: I can picture the cliffs and the gorgeous landscape and
Speaker 1: the towering trees of Mariposa Grove. As the world slowly
Speaker 1: emerges from the pandemic, many of us are traveling for
Speaker 1: the first time in a while, so we if you
Speaker 1: have an upcoming trip that you would really like to remember,
Speaker 1: see if you can consciously form a memory while you
Speaker 1: were on the trip. Choose a song that you would
Speaker 1: like to associate with the time, or choose a scent
Speaker 1: that you can associate with it. Make sure you experience
Speaker 1: that song or scent as frequently as possible as you
Speaker 1: are making the memory. Then make sure you have some
Speaker 1: sort of artifact so you can call the memory back up.
Speaker 1: The song idea is pretty obvious. You just play the song,
Speaker 1: but sense are going to require something else, So buy
Speaker 1: a souvenir candle or soaps, or maybe start using a
Speaker 1: new perfume or cologne that you can then associate with
Speaker 1: the trip whenever you sprits it in the future. When
Speaker 1: you do this, you will be able to access your
Speaker 1: happy memories more quickly. Obviously, you will have memories of
Speaker 1: your trip or your adventure regardless of what you do,
Speaker 1: but this is one way to make them stick even more,
Speaker 1: and in our busy brains, that can be a good thing. Indeed,
Speaker 1: in the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.