We’ve heard a lot of people tell us things like “I have a bad memory”, “I can’t remember anything”, “I have very poor recall” – or other similar unresourceful belief statements. Our first couple of questions when we are told this is “compared to whom?” and “How do you know”.
When people believe they have a bad memory, they usually do. But which came first, the belief or the bad memory? Most likely – the belief.
Often, people create beliefs about themselves by doing a comparative analysis, not with specific other people, but with a concept they have in mind. In other words, they are not actually comparing themselves with other people but what they think they should remember.
It has been said that 10% of our mind is the conscious mind – this is the thinking, analytical, reasoning, and critical thinking part of our mind; and 90% is the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is where all of our memories are stored – and it is thought that we have access to as little as just 3% of this part of our mind. Regardless, however, or if you remember something – your unconscious is the storehouse for all memories, emotions, concepts, feelings, behaviors – and everything else that has ever happened in your life.
Think about your unconscious mind as a large and deep pond. If you drop a coin into the pond, you may now be able to see it or access it, but you know that it is there. This is the same for the unconscious mind. It contains millions of coins from your life – and through a variety of techniques from NLP, you’ll be able to access those coins, or memories with ease.
In today’s world, there is so much to keep track of. And, if you are getting yourself off to work, the kids off to school and you are remembering where you live at the end of the day, you’re doing pretty good! But, in all seriousness – the majority of ‘bad memories’ out there result from unsupportive beliefs.
Luckily, NLP can help with that! Not only will you be able to challenge some beliefs, but you will also learn how to trust your unconscious mind more effectively, put in place some strategies to help with memory recall and ultimately, improve your memory.
