AbdulSalamWhy do We Forget things? This question sometimes pops up in our minds when we lock ourselves out of our car and forget to carry a mobile charger while on a road trip and in many similar situations. This blog is decoding the science of “Why we forget things” to make it understandable for you, and in the second section of this blog, we will discuss how to overcome this thing. Let’s start.
Memory works in three steps,
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
If you want to understand why we forget things, you first must understand that forgetting can happen in any of the steps mentioned above in memory.
It is possible to have incomplete encoding, as the famous quote by Harry Lorayne describes,
“Most people don’t forget; they never take the trouble to remember.”
The second possibility of forgetting can be because of storage issues (we might don’t save it in our long-term memory)
The third possibility is because of unsuccessful retrieval.
But our plan was “why we forget things,” so let’s discuss a few points before jumping to the solution of forgetfulness.
1-Interest:
#1 Reason Why We Forget Things is “interest”. I never liked math; it was not for me & that is why I was not good at it. The science of memory is simple, if you are keen about something, you will never forget it & if you are not, you will never remember it. Simple.
Let me ask you a question.
Have you ever forgotten your Birthday?
Of course not, because it excites you, but on the other hand, you might forget a chemical formula, a mathematical equation (like me), or the scientific name of some animal. It’s all about interest.
2-Interference:
#2 Reason Why We Forget Things is “Distractions”. You are preparing for your next presentation & suddenly, your phone beeps, you check the phone & it is the notification by TikTok that someone followed you there. You unlock the phone & start scrolling through his timeline; minutes or hours later, you find yourself scrolling TikTok or Instagram reels & your assignment is yet to be done. This is what we call distractions. Memory doesn’t work with distractions. It needs focus to process the three steps for successful long-term memory building.
3-Retrieval Failure
#3 Reason Why We Forget Things is “Brain Failure”. It is about the third step & it mostly happens in exam halls when we cannot retrieve something from our mind that we read the night before. Later, I will tell you how to fix it.
4-Motivated Forgetting
#4 Reason Why We Forget Things is “We don’t want to remember that”. We forget things consciously with our own will. We forget things that haunt us, like some bad memories, trauma, or any adverse event in our life that we want to forget.
These were the possible significant causes of why it happens to us & now we will discuss how we can deal with it.
1-Be More Observant
How often have you forgotten your keys?
Many times, possibly
Why?
Because you ignored what is going on there at that moment, learn to be mentally present where you exist physically. Learn to be mindful
2-Have the Motivation
Create your interest in things you are not interested in. Let me tell you how, if you are not interested in the subject, try to be interested in your objective. If your goal is to secure 90% in your finals, your mind will push you to study things because your goal matters to your mind. The second thing is to have a competitor; bet with your friend on results, it will push you against all odds & you will do more than you can.
3- Have Confidence
Be affirmative about your body & mind. Never think that something is beyond your capacity. Your mind can make everything possible; you must keep trying with an optimistic mindset. Push yourself, clap for yourself & win the world like never before.
Win the World Champ!
I am a psychologist, Author and Udemy Instructor. I have diverse Professional experience in teaching, training and counselling. For the past 7 years, I have contributed to the literature on positive psychology, self-help, personal development and student affairs. I regularly write a blog on www.abdulsalamspeaks.com, and here is the list of my publicly available resources.
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