Improve Your Memory

#151

“When you train your creativity, you automatically train your memory. When you train your memory, you automatically train your creative thinking skills!” — Tony Buzan

Did you know that your memory gets better as you become more imaginative? If you ‘will’ yourself to remember, and your imagination is not on the task, you will have zero retention and recall. Your imagination is the place of all your memory power.

"When the imagination and the will are in conflict, the imagination always wins." - Emile Coue 

And every time you recall a memory, your whole brain fires and wires new connections together. So, what all can you do to improve your memory which in turn will help you get more creative?

When spending time learning and reading, use a variety of methodologies to learn - spaced repetition, memory palace, Feynman technique, teach the concept or topic to someone you know, and so on. Try out experiential learning and “context-based” learning as they are more powerful than simply reading. Connect the dots between what you’re learning in an imaginative way with something you already know.

Before going to sleep at night, try to spend a few minutes recalling what you learnt by visualizing the ideas, concepts, challenges, experiences, of what you’re trying to accomplish;  also visualize the completion of your project or attainment of your goal.

That way, you will trigger your subconscious. When you wake up first thing in the morning, drink a huge glass of water, go to a quiet place, and start writing in your journal in a stream-of-consciousness manner. Once you start getting creative ideas, keep writing — it’s usually the idea after idea that really matters - focus on quantity over quality in this case.

The above is related to what psychologists call “epiphany ability,” your potential to break the shackles of mental fixedness. All that's required is determination, practice, patience, and belief that you will succeed.