" My wife asked me to pick up some items at the super market- but for the world of me, I can't remember what she said!".
Sounds common? It is. Most of us go through this situation day in and day out. And most of us, don't do anything about it. Why?
That is because we have been brought up this way. Memorize stuff! Dull, boring stuff. The brain cannot keep it in because it is - yeah- boring!!!
The brain & the studies being done around it- has led to one simple conclusion- and there is not debate about that. The Brain is COMPLEX. And to be successful, we have to keep it in a super working condition. How?
This confounded a lot of people till Tony Buzan came up in the world scene. And based on his studies, the hypothesis was simple. So simple, that most people don't even think it is possible!
The Brain is made up of 2 parts - the Left which is your Logical Portion- which takes care of Numbers, sequence, logic, words, lines, lists, analysis etc. The Right side of the brain is the more creative portion- which accounts for Rhythm, colour, shapes, imagination etc.
Right from school, our teachers, our parents teach us 1 thing - Stop dreaming and start doing!! We are forced to use the left more and more! As a result we end up without a balance.
Step 1: Use Both sides of your brain - All geniuses, who have created new things, written poems, have all been people who use both sides of the brain! This is the first step towards improving your memory! Start forcing yourself to think in Non sequential manner! How? more on that later.
Step 2: Start thinking colour (or color for our American friends). Do you remember things from your past - very happy occassions where you can visualize the dress you wore, you can "see" things in its original colours! The brain remembers Colour. Leverage that power!
Step 3 - Start thinking Pictures - Create pictures - colourful ones, ridiculous in their logic, things that you would not dare tell anyone else- but so completely delightful, that your brain enjoys itself.
Step 4: Start creating "Links" or chains! Do you have these birthday game where a number of items are dropped off a box for you to look at and then covered again. You are expected to write down what you remember. Most people dont remember more than 5-6 things! By linking things up- using a Story for example- can help people connect things together! Use both sides of your brain- and create completely absurd, illogical, colourful stories with pictures - and try to play this game again! You will be surprised!
Step 5: Learn the basics of Mindmapping - Mindmap is a tool that Buzan introduced- on how the brain works & stores information. It is a way of working the way the brain works and create a mindmap that uses, colours, links, pictures etc.. It will change the way you will look at the world- the way you work, the way you read, the way you remember! It has been proved time and again- and I want to introduce these 2 elements for you to consider.
