How to keep the memories we make?

Photo by sarandy westfall on Unsplash

Have you ever stopped to wonder how our memories are made? Life is so busy these days; we’re always rushing from one hasty activity to the next, only to fall into bed at the end of the day, tired and worn out. 

But that’s good, right? The more we do, the more memories we make? Well only if we are consciously trying to work on remembering things. We can do plenty of memorable things but it’s holding on to those memories that makes them special.

As we do all these wonderful things - cooking together, sports, outdoor activities, cinema trips, family days out, parties, holidays - it begs the question: how do we remember all of this? With our busy lifestyles, it is likely that if someone asks you what you did at the end of the week you may remember very little of what went on. And we could be in danger of resigning ourselves to thinking ‘oh, I’ve just got a bad memory,’ but by thinking this way, we’re stunting our ability to enrich our experiences even further. 

So how can we retain those memories so they don’t fade into the far corners of our minds? Here are 5 simple ways to bank those happy experiences and turn them into memories.

Capture it all

Photographs are one of the most popular guardians of our memories. Especially with the quality of the cameras we now have on our smartphones, we can snap a momentous experience with just one handy click. Afterwards, we can organise those images into albums or photo books, as well as glossy or canvas prints to hang on the wall where we can look back fondly on those special moments. 

As well as the physical prints, our photo apps have a wonderful “on this day…” function which brings up snaps from this day in a past year, where we can affectionately reminisce and share the pictures with others.

Reflect and regroup

We can sometimes pack our days with so many activities that we don’t make time to reflect on the day that has been. Why not spend some intentional time chatting with your family, roommates or friends about what happened that day? 

Put the phones away, grab a cuppa and chat. This can help us evaluate what went on that day - what went well, what didn’t go so well and how we feel about it. Talking through our days and making connections to other things we know or have experienced, helps us to retain those memories. 

Drop yourself a line

Another way to hang on to those happy memories is to keep a diary or a journal. It can be what you want it to be! You can write about how you are feeling, your hopes and dreams or simply what you did that day. You will always have this to look back on and recall those unique moments.

Or let your imagination run wild! Why not collect magazine cuttings and make a collage or draw or sketch some pictures to help you remember? From a neuroscience perspective, our visual cortex is powerful. So anything that ties into images is important for the brain. Linking images to our activities helps us to store the memories.

Be present

Often, very special occasions which we would like to be memorable can pass us by as we get caught up in the logistics of the event. It’s not unusual for a newlywed couple to have very little recollection of their special day as it tends to go by in a blur! 

Being present sounds a bit odd; of course you’re present; you’re there! What is meant by this is being present in mind as well as in body, so that we can take it all in as it is in front of us. In fact, the first act of memory-making is to be fully present - we can’t store and then retrieve a memory if we haven’t fully immersed ourselves in the experience. 

A simple exercise is to talk to ourselves in the present tense. For example, we could say to ourselves “I am hugging my mum”. It sounds silly but it can really help that memory cement itself in our hearts. No harm either to stop and take a few deep breaths while looking intently around us and taking in the scene, whatever it may be. All this helps us to really be present so we can absorb the atmosphere, the details, the people, the conversations.

Keep a memory box

Decluttering is all the rage these days, and I have to say I’m all for it; but perhaps keeping a small box (choose the size - maybe a shoe box) where we keep little snippets of our memories could help us recollect those magical moments.

Of course, these days there are very few ticket stubs and the like, due to everything being digitalised but there are many other trinkets that can be collected. Why not hang on to a restaurant business card you got with the bill? What about drying a flower from a bouquet you got as a gift?

As I’m sure most of us aren’t fond of hoarding too much, a relative of mine gave me a great tip. Clear out the memory box every once in a while and if something really strikes you but it’s too big to keep, take a photo of it. It will pop up in your photo app from time to time, so you will probably end up viewing it more often than if it was tucked away in a box!

Souvenirs of our past

Memories are important, they help us bond with our loved-ones and are a wonderful source of comfort in times of hardship. Hanging on to our memories is just as important as making them, so perhaps some of these tips will help us to make sure we have plenty to reminisce about as we go through life.