Improve Your Memory

The most powerful and valuable computer in the world is the mind. So why do people fill it with bad information? The brain takes pessimistic input like, “I can’t tell jokes” and processes it literally, making the statement a reality. The dastardly negative, “Don’t forget,” often fails to help the head. To accentuate the positive, simply rephrase – and when you combine it with a rhyme, you will remember every time.

Rhythmic Rhyme
Many of us remember Dr. Seuss because his stories always produce lips that incline after you read the rhythmic rhyme. This is also true when you give a Tasteful Toast – and I’m the bestselling author who’s allowed to cheer and boast. For a grocery list that’s small spot a couple words to recall. Say out loud to yourself, “Milk and bread keep us fed.”

Word games busy the brain and build recall. For decades scientists have proven that people who work on puzzles like jigsaws, crosswords, and Sudoku stimulate brain cell growth, which leads to improved memory.

Another Boat to Float
For those that prefer not to rhyme, there are several other ways to muscle your memory. One option is to make up acronyms to help remember facts, names or sequences. For example, I perform a specific magic trick and need to reveal the aces in order of club, heart, spade and diamond. I use the word CHaSeD. Each consonant is the first letter of the playing card’s suit and that acronym helps me remember.

Learning how to play music challenges the brain and also uses acronyms. “FACE” names the four notes in the spaces of a treble clef scale, but a sentence, “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge,” is needed to name the five lined notes of E, G, B, D and F. Thinking about a little boy’s face full of fudge provides a vivid image to ignite the memory. Then again, just listening to music can elevate your mood, reduce stress and increase your recollection – and doesn’t involve chocolate or calories.

Rehearse the Verse
My brain tends to remember short little poems or funny, clean limericks. Maybe yours does too. So try one of these techniques, a little at first, and practice a phrase or two. See if your memory begins to improve.

Be an optimist! Positive thinking will keep you clear, focused and alert – affirmative results that science always asserts. Most of all, remember this; Yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch, life’s a cinch.

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Michael Varma is a freelance writer, award-winning presenter and professional magician. To learn more, visit www.MichaelVarma.com. Contact Michael Varma, the author of Tasteful Toasts, for permission to reprint this article. Copyright July 2010 Magical Concepts.