Recognize that you are the architect of your own health and that making lifestyle changes is always worthwhile for feeling better and living more.
Use memory as a co-pilot, not the driver, by pausing to evaluate its influence and directing it towards your goals, preventing it from feeding biases or bad habits.
Optimize brain function by consciously letting go of unimportant details and organizing to hold onto what truly matters, focusing on quality over quantity of memories.
Leverage your brain’s neuroplasticity to actively change your worldview and perceptions, rather than being a victim to past ways of thinking.
Change your perspective on aging and cognition by embracing it as a new stage of life, focusing on who you want to be as a senior rather than trying to replicate your younger self.
Actively change your perspective on traumatic experiences to alter how you feel about them in the present, a core principle in many therapeutic approaches.
Reframe your interpretation of negative past experiences to learn from them, recognize your resilience, and overcome challenges, rather than letting them form a harmful negative story.
Actively work to convert initially negative or horrible experiences into positive, shareable stories, finding growth and humor in them over time.
Exchange traumatic memories, especially those associated with shame and guilt, with an empathetic person to find new perspectives and foster growth.
When experiencing negative ruminations or regrets, try to look at the situation from a third-person or outside perspective to regulate emotions.
Actively change your perspective on past events to access different details and aspects of those memories that were previously inaccessible.
Cultivate empathy by adopting the belief that if you were another person, you would act the same, considering their life and past to understand their worldview.
When preparing for a challenge or aiming to embody a certain trait, recall past instances of success or altruism to feel better and increase desired behavior.
Actively engage in self-reflective practices like journaling or weekly reflection, focusing on positives and gratitude, to proactively choose to remember good experiences.
When practicing gratitude, begin by focusing on very small, mundane positive events from your day, as this can create a snowball effect, making it easier to access other positive memories.
Understand and accept that forgetting most daily experiences is normal and even optimal for brain function, rather than viewing it as a problem.
Embrace the feeling of struggle when learning new things, as this indicates you are learning the most, especially when accompanied by feedback.
Expose yourself to novelty and mental struggle to prevent your brain from overfitting to predictability and to develop more openness to new and unexpected information.
Actively seek out new and novel experiences, especially as you get older, to take advantage of the brain’s natural plasticity and prevent rigidity.
Continuously learn new things and expose your brain to novel input, especially as you age or retire, to maintain neuroplasticity and prevent cognitive decline.
Do not avoid social settings or interactions due to fear, as avoidance can make these situations feel even trickier and lead to further down-regulation of your brain’s adaptability.
To create strong, lasting memories, fully engage with the present moment by focusing on the sights, sounds, feelings, and social context, rather than getting stuck in your head.
When capturing experiences, focus on documenting emotions and the social context (e.g., photos with friends) to plant effective memory cues that can later trigger richer recollections.
Use photos selectively to focus on specific sites or moments you wish to capture, which can enhance your memory and provide better access to those events later.
Be selective in your documentation (e.g., photos, journaling) and regularly revisit these reminders to trigger memory retrieval and solidify those memories over time.
Be mindful of how you interact with technology; avoid mindlessly documenting experiences through your phone, as this can change the experience itself and hinder genuine memory formation.
Limit alcohol consumption, especially during significant experiences, as it blocks brain plasticity and can lead to blackouts or blurry memories.
Engage in aerobic exercise to improve blood flow, glucose metabolism, potentially increase neurogenesis, reduce stress, inflammation, sleep, and emotion regulation, all benefiting memory.
Approach exercise with a positive attitude; if it causes stress or you hate it, it may be counterproductive, so aim for holistic enjoyment rather than rigid adherence.
Prioritize big-picture holistic health, including maintaining cardiac health (avoiding hypertension, managing cholesterol) and healthy blood sugar levels, over relying on individual supplements.
Consume a good quality diet to support and help maintain healthy memory function.
Maintain a healthy gut microbiome, as it interacts with the brain and can influence memory and brain structure, being affected by factors like diet, stress, and illness.
If you have hearing deficits, use hearing aids to potentially stall cognitive decline by reducing brain noise, improving focus, and increasing engagement with the world.
When stressed and struggling to remember (e.g., finding keys), take a deep breath and pause to ground yourself, as this can be more effective than panicking.
Understand that your mindset and how you frame experiences determine whether an event is stressful; actively reframe perceptions to mitigate negative long-term effects on brain function.
As you age, focus on sharing accumulated wisdom, teaching younger generations, and passing on traditions and cultural knowledge, rather than solely on forming new personal memories.
Teach information to others, as this practice not only helps them but also enhances your own learning and retention of that information.
Aim to experience traumatic memories in a tolerable, manageable, and limited way, rather than trying to completely let go of them.
Use sheer repetition, as in behavior therapy, to reprogram physiological fear responses and overwrite the sense of threat associated with traumatic memories.
Repeatedly expose yourself to feared situations (e.g., driving if afraid) to gradually suppress the fear response and learn that the environment is safe.
Understand that the factual content of memories is distinct from the stories and emotions you attach to them, which can be useful for treatment and personal growth.
Understand that the brain and body are interconnected, and your internal bodily context (e.g., physical sensations, hormones) is part of an event’s context, influencing memory.