A Testimony

I am 67 as I write this story. I was never able to remember names, faces, places from my childhood. When I was 60 I posed this question to a doctor/psychologist team (my son and daughter-in-law). The question was, “I have an amazing pictorial memory. I can read a dozen books, write a dozen books, all simultaneously, without confusing one with the other. HOWEVER, I am unable to remember names, faces, places. Please help me.”

They pointed out the problem of information overload and how I was prone to it more than my companions. Then they pointed out the problem of enforced automatic forgetting by my brain. They also reminded me that I am able to manage such voluminous reading and writing without any memory problem because I had unconsciously trained myself to remember those things since remembering those things was essential to sustain my hobby of reading and writing.

They then asked me to consciously develop the habit of retaining names. I soon added a main diary and a small diary. Soon I was addressing everyone by their proper name. The impact of this approach dawned upon me a few days after when I visited my grocer who has about 20 employees. The moment I addressed a girl there by her name, she was stunned. In a shocked voice she asked me, “Sir, does a person of your age have time to remember an insignificant person's name?” I told her nobody was insignificant for me.

Soon there was a competition among the employees to see if I can recognize them all. I was able to, thanks to the small diary in which I would jot down their name after getting it from them. Then it would go to my main diary under the proper heading. Initially this looked like a daunting job, but soon it became part of my unconscious habit because my brain now got trained not to reject names. The social and professional results I enjoy now are simply amazing.

There are many in society around us who feel lonely, insignificant, helpless, alone, and excluded. However, the moment they hear their name from a stranger, a customer, a client of their agency, suddenly a kind of joy passes through their hearts. I have seen it a thousand times in the last 7 years of memory training.

Thus, working on your memory improves not only your professional life, but it also gives you an opportunity to bring great joy, hope, and significance in the lives of a great many people. Nobody ought to reject that kind of a contribution of hope and joy to others.

YOU too can have the same results. It is a matter of a little discipline, a bit of investment, and enjoying the results for all of your life. Now let us go back to our training program.