Do you trust your memory?
If not, this story and the memory improvement tips on this page may provide the game changing prompts you’ve been looking for.
You see, I had a meeting recently with one of my best Magnetic Memory coaching clients.
While taking with him, I realized that one issue many people have with memorization has nothing to do with mnemonics.
No, his problem was trust. He simply did not believe that memory techniques would actually help him.
Now, the problem of lacking faith in all the memory science and all the examples of mnemonists who accomplish many incredibly goals comes in many forms.
First of all, before we even get into memory techniques, many of us don’t trust the mental strength required for the discipline of memory training. This is a shame because you can easily start building your mind through all kinds of cognitive exercises and mental fitness routines. The sooner your start developing it, the better.
You see, trust doesn’t happen all at once. Like each station in a Memory Palace Network built using the method of loci, trust has to be established location by location and station by station.
How do we build trust with our memory?
Start small.
I call this approach “lowering the hurdle.”
For example, when using the Magnetic Memory Method, start with just one letter in one Memory Palace using one station.
Although I still teach “Memory Palace Maximalism” in order to get the maximal results, I fully endorse the idea of starting as simply as possible. In fact, starting small is probably the single most effective way to build trust every time.
It can also be used to rebuild trust if you’ve used Memory Palaces before and have only recently come back to them.
Again, start small. It’s good to make friends with the power of your mind before asking it to conquer the world.
Also, many people find it helpful get started using Memory Palaces by using words they already know to ease their way into the methodology.
This makes perfect sense, and I’ve since started using this process with my private clients. Using The Freedom Journal helps many people too.
Can You Build Trust Without a Memory Palace?
Another way to build trust is to memorize without the use of a Memory Palace.
I know that such a suggestion might sound unusual coming from me, a guy who is constantly putting out new Memory Palace examples.
But it’s true. If you allow yourself to practice remembering information in a different way from time to time, all of your memory skills grow as a result.
Here’s a great exercise you can do:
Next time you leave your keys somewhere (or go out of your way to leave them somewhere you will easily forget them for the sake of this exercise), hear a huge explosion in your mind, or the sound of crashing glass.
It doesn’t have to be these exact sounds. Just use whatever comes to you as the best possible sound that will help you recall the location. I guarantee that you’ll have no problem remembering where you’ve put them.
You can also use this principle with your wallet, your favorite pair of socks, what have you …
No matter sounds what you use, you’ll find yourself building an amazing level of trust with the power of your mind.
And if you don’t believe that trust is important, check out what memory experts Ron White and Ben Pridmore have to say about trusting your memory (don’t skip this – this tip is huge!):
Visualization Enhancement
Another area where trust comes into play is when it comes to visualization.
Many people don’t trust their minds to come up with the perfect images. They also aren’t using multi-sensory images. These visualization exercises will help. You can also add visualization meditations for an extra boost.
I created them because I used to suffer from Imagination Deficit Disorder myself. I overcame it by looking at a lot of art and taking up drawing. I think mind mapping over the past few years has helped as well.
Since then, I’ve been able to visualize with much greater intensity, clarity and memorability (which was the goal).
(I’ve also been able to help a lot of people overcome their aphantasia too.)
But first I had to trust myself in a few different ways:
- Trust that if others can do it, I can too
- Trust that because my mind is produced by a brain, it must be like those other successful brains
- Trust that all evidence shows it’s possible for me to develop my mind
I also had to turn off the negative voice in my head that was telling me I couldn’t learn to draw, that I would never be good at it.
I don’t know why the human mind says such blatantly negative stuff to some of us, but there is an on-off/volume switch.
One way to access that off-switch is to imagine a radio dial in your mind and either switch it off completely (the maximalist approach) or simply turn the volume down (the “lower hurdle” approach).
Another way is to use self inquiry questions, two of which I was delighted to share at a TEDx event:
I’ve found that combining all of these approaches works wonders, likely because they amount to multi-layered visualization and auditory exercises.
Give them a try sometime.
You Can Learn To Trust Your Memory
Whether a person has trust issues around building Memory Palaces or creating imagery, a major step you can take is to practice relaxation before engaging in memory work.
Until you’ve tried it, you may not realize just how fundamental this step really is to your success.
If you’ve got a Magnetic Memory Method book or belong to the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass, all the instructions are there.
In sum, it’s a best practice to exercise your memory in a relaxed state. In this state, you’ll find that you have all the trust you need to excel at building Memory Palaces and populating them with words from your target language or terminology from you professional field.
Above all, enjoy the journey. Memory improvement is an incredible adventure and helps make for a much more interesting life.
