Vol 1, Number 4
The Committee Inside Your Head
Everyone has experienced the phenomenon: You
meet an old friend on the street, and try as you might, you just can't remember their name.
You agonize through the whole conversation, trying to match them with every name you can
think of, but you just can't seem to bring it to mind (note the choice of words).
Hours later, when you are watching TV, or cooking dinner, or lying in your bed, just about
to fall asleep, it hits you. The name so desperately sought finally comes to mind, long
after you had given up hope of remembering it. Why is it that something truly forgotten
could be produced, not by making an intense effort to remember it, but by not
thinking about it? It seems to defy logic: When I attempt to retrieve a fact from my mind
(note the choice of words), that is precisely when I fail, but letting go seems to
start some unseen process of remembering which has a much higher rate of success!
The way the human mind works defies scientific explanation. It may help, in this
example, to think of all the cells and neurons inside your brain as a large
committee, some charged with retaining facts and records of occurrences, and some in charge
of retrieving these facts. Whenever something is not often referenced, some part of your
subconscious mind puts that fact somewhere on a back shelf, out of immediate reach,
but available for reference at some later date. When it comes time to retrieve that fact,
the committee inside your head goes to work, trying to get that fact into the active
conscious part of your mind so it can be referenced and recognized, and maybe you
can actually pretend that you knew it all along. But for some reason, the process can
sometimes be much slower than instantaneous.* It may take longer than your conversation, so that as you are walking
away, it suddenly comes to you. It may take even longer than that.
But once you know about this wonderful system going on inside your head (provided
that your brain does indeed work this same way), you may actually be able to use it even
more to your advantage. Instead of being some automatic process you have no real control
over, you can actually teach yourself to consciously make a call to that part of
your subconscious mind that handles this. You can say (in your head), "Okay guys, I
am leaving the house now to go my cousin's house, and there is no way I am going to
remember the names of every single one of his kids, without your help. Have all their names
in my conscious mind by the time we get there." Then, don't think about it. At all. Put on
some classical music, or whatever keeps you relaxed, and make the drive as you normally
would, without trying any strenuous mental gymnastics. You may be surprised at how
effective your mind can be when you let it do its job.
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