Unlimited Memory. How to Train Your Brain to Learn Faster and Remember More

© Nathan Lawton, 2020

ISBN 978-5-4498-1839-3

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Unlimited Memory

How to Train Your Brain to Learn Faster and Remember More

Introduction

Improving your brain’s ability to learn new things and retain them is a skill many desire. Did you know that it is not that difficult? A majority of people have issues learning new things and most complain that they are more forgetful. In this book, you are shown what to avoid to improve your cognitive functions. Learn how you can focus your mind on remembering things by adopting simple habits as well as complex ones.

Registering information correctly is the first step in the process of retaining the information. In order to retain the information you want to memorize, it needs to have make sense so that you can improve your ability to recall it. If you cannot make sense of a bunch of information, it will be so hard to take it in. You should feed your brain information in a format it will understand.

For example, a computer takes in a lot of information through the keyboard. However, it uses a software to convert the information to binary (a form that it can understand.) In the same way, the human being takes in a lot of information. The human being takes in information through the 5 senses. Because we are not conversant with the way we should process the information and in what language to store it in, we just take it as it is and try to store it that way. That is why registration of info is done incorrectly. In the coming chapters, I will show you a few simple exercises that you can conduct to register information in the language your brain understands.

A sharp mind is an asset in your life. I will show you how you can exercise your mind. These mind exercises are for everyone because they are novel, challenging and fun. At the end of the day, they are rewarding. Not only do they prevent your brain from atrophy, they boost your cognitive reserves. Read on.

Chapter 1 – All the basics you need to know about your mind and memory

The mind

In life, your physical muscles need to be flexed to keep you in shape. Did you know that your mental muscles need flexing too? There are mental muscles for logical thinking, metaphorical thinking, analytical thinking, verbal thinking, critical thinking and visual thinking.

In the same way, the muscles in your body work together to create motion, your mental muscles work in tandem to create clear, purposeful thoughts. For your mind to be fit, you need a few qualities.

– Mental flexibility: The ability to switch from one line of thought to another especially when you are creating something.

– Mental strength: When you apply your mind to something that requires concentration such as learning a new thing, doing math etc.

– Mental coordination: This quality is all about timing, agility, and balance. This comes into play when you balance a few activities by orchestrating your thinking.

– Mental endurance: This is the quality you need when you want to put your ideas into action. This is the ability to keep at something without allowing yourself to be distracted.

Benefits of being in good mental shape

This book is all about giving you effective exercises to keep you in mental shape. Why even bother getting mentally fit? Mental exercise is a progression of thought. When you apply your mind to something, you manipulate your mental resources. Mental exercise is something that requires attention such as brainstorming, playing a challenging game, figuring out how to solve a problem etc.

One of the main benefits of being mentally fit is having a sharp mind. Physical exercise makes your body stronger and makes you look good. Mental exercise does the same to your mind. You become stronger mentally such that you can learn new things very fast. You also possess impressive memory and your concentration is off the charts.

Memory

It is pretty incredible how your brain is alive every day during your existence and stores what you encounter each day. Consider that your memory reserve is like a book, it is very likely it would look quite substantially thick. It would have a lot of information on how your life has been since you were a small child up to this point that you are reading this sentence. Here is an informative overview on the incredible thing we call memory.

Definition of Memory

Memory is, put simply, the essential process of storing, encoding, and retrieving information. Your mind and being are made of memories. The normal person you see out on the street is made up of memories. If you take away your memories, you will not live in the present. You will not live or have a desirable future without your past.

Chapter 2 – Attention, concentration, and Interest

Attention

Mental test

Imagine you have 20 volts of attention in total. If you devote your mind to something, you spend 5 volts. If you get distracted, you waste 5 volts. For instance, you are seated at your desk and you settle into an uncomfortable posture. That alone drains about 5 volts of attention. Now you get bored. You see your work as a chore and you are at crossroads. Part of you says “do it”, the other says “don’t do it”.

Another 5 volts are chalked off. Now, your mind gets distracted. You start thinking of your summer plans, the movie premiere, the dirty laundry, the dirty dishes, what you will have for dinner, and it goes on and on until you use up all your remaining attention volts. The task at hand fades away completely.

We are guilty of going through life using our mental energy on everything besides the tasks at hand. We clog our minds with many thoughts. We are busy anticipating, worrying, analyzing and planning.

We lose our attention volts that way and we fail at the tasks we set out to accomplish. Therefore, one of the first things we should do to improve our attention is loosening up our minds.

Exercise to improve your Attention

How can you loosen up your mind? How can you focus your attention on one thing? Try this before you set out to do something.

– Sit down at your work desk.

– Relax your muscles.

– Release the tension in your shoulders.

– Breathe deeply and evenly.

– Unclench your facial muscles around your eyes and mouth.

– Loosen up any tense muscles in your body.

When you relax, your body becomes healthy and your mind clearer. You focus on the task at hand. You do not get an unhealthy urge to rush through things. You take one thing at a time.

Once you are in this calm state, the next activity is set to loosen your mind.

– Grab a piece of paper and a pen.

– In your state of physical relaxation, allow your thoughts to flow freely. Allowing your thoughts to flow freely is dispensing the sudden urge to act on everything.

– On the paper, write down everything that is going through your mind. These are long-term goals, short-term goals, innate desires, things you should have said or done at a particular time, things you want to do or have to do such as shopping lists and appointments. Write down everything, no matter how trivial it seems. Write them down until you can write no more.

When you write down everything, you remove the mental clog. You see at one glance all that you have on your mind to deal with and what you have been subconsciously thinking about.

With that done, you free up your mind to work on your current task without having distracting thoughts. You tell your brain not to worry about it and you will be going back to it later.

Make it a habit to take some time out every day to relax and let go of everything. Set aside some time to do nothing each day. That way, you can improve the ability to focus on things and ultimately to remember.

Improve your concentration

Once you are attentive to the task at hand, the next step to learning something fast is mastering the art of concentration. Concentration is the ability to tune something in and all others out. It enables you to think clearly and as a consequence, to remember more. In the exercise to improve your attention, you will notice that once you were in a relaxed state, you quickly wanted to move on to another thing. Your mind was thinking about something else other than your targeted goal. Your attention is dynamic. It keeps shifting, focusing on one thing every few moments. This is normal because it gives your mind the sense of continuity.

Try the following exercise:

– Read the following stream of numbers to yourself.

– Each time you finish a line, close your eyes and repeat the numbers.

2 8 4 7 1

3 8 2 9 4 3

4 2 5 2 6 3 7

5 7 4 2 7 2 7 3

3 1 4 8 4 7 3 6 9 2 6 0 5 2 1 6 0

– How many numbers can you recall easily?

If you are like most of us, you will find it easy to remember 5 digits but when it gets longer, you find it almost impossible to remember. Research shows that most people can deal with seven discrete bits of information at a go. You can look at a 7 digit phone number and register it pretty quickly. More than that and you have to write it somewhere.

To increase your attention span, you can re-organize the data into groups that make sense to you.

– Take a 13-digit stream of numbers.

– Divide into 6 digits and 7 digits.

– Associate the first 6 to an address (or something you relate to).

– Associate the next 7 to another address.

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