HAVE A Laugh
Everyone has heard the phrase “death by chocolate,” but there’s at least one person in history who took the saying seriously: Adolf Hitler. THE ASSASSINATION PLOT YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF Exploding Chocolate! According to Smithsonian Magazine, Hitler and his German forces once plotted to assassinate British Prime Minister Winston Churchill by covering a small bomb with dark chocolate, wrapping it in black and gold paper, and slipping it into a snack basket in the British War Cabinet’s dining room. When the prime minister unwrapped the bar, he’d have just seven seconds before the “treat” detonated and potentially turned the tide of World War II. Fortunately, the British intelligence agency MI5 caught wind of the German plot and stopped it. More than 60 years later, the rest of the world found out about it when a letter detailing the plot went public.
2 SCIENTIFIC METHODS TO STOP FORGETTING Self-Empowering Motivation Is a ‘Shortcut’
Why do we supplement our diets with omega-3s and do puzzle games to strengthen the health of our brains? The most important reason is to prevent memory loss. However, in order to enhance our memory and lessen the instances of forgetting both big and little things, these brain-based strategies can help! No. 1: Aim for mastery, not relative performance. When losing weight, some people find it helpful to stop checking Facebook or Instagram to prevent self- comparisons. Similarly, your brain forgets what’s important when you compare your performance to others. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have found that mastery-approach goals (i.e., developing your own competence) enhance memory of newly learned material, whereas performance-approach goals (i.e., comparing yourself to others) can create “tenuous connections” in memory. The authors concluded the study by saying, “Motivation factors can influence inhibition and forgetting.”
So, it might be time to ask yourself: What motivates you to learn new things, and how can you change your approach?
No. 2: Ask why. A 2016 study from the European Journal of Social Psychology found that thinking more abstractly can actually reduce memory issues. The study examined how levels of “construal” (examination and interpretation) can affect memory, and their results suggested that “abstract thinking can eliminate retrieval-induced forgetting because of relational processing, demonstrating the roles of the levels of construal on memory inhibition.” In other words, if you know the “how” and “why” behind things you intend to remember, you’ll be more likely to remember them. If you’ve been forgetful lately, maybe it’s time to rethink how you approach new information — according to researchers, a new source of motivation or critical thinking mindset could make all the difference!
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 3
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