Do you remember the favorite gift you received on your 13th birthday? What about how you felt the first week your child started school?
Memories have a way of fading over time. It’s easy to forget details the further we get from the event. Some details we completely forget, but often they remain dormant until pricked by someone’s comment or our own mental exploration. Recording our memories and sharing them with others helps keep them alive. The more we dive in, the more we uncover those dormant, but important, details that make the memories so rich.
Here are some tips to help keep your memories alive.
Record Your Memories
The first step is to transfer the memories from your brain to a place where you can start recording the details. Start with what first comes to mind. As you record details you’ll think of additional details.
Once you have the initial draft take a break. Perhaps move on to another memory. With the initial details recorded, over time your brain will continue thinking of other details.
After a day or two, come back and update your memory with the new details that surfaced. Spend a little more time finding photos or recording your thoughts in a video.
Share Your Memories
Sharing your memories is another way to help remember the details. As your friends and family ask questions, more details will surface. There may be others who also remember the event and help fill in the gaps. Ask what they remember. Be sure to continue updating your record with all the new details.
Revisit Your Memories
With your memories recorded, you no longer have to rely on your memory. As time passes there’s no more risk of forgetting important moments. You can enjoy them with all their rich details at any time and continue sharing them with others.
Record As You Go
Instead of trying to conjure up details from events in the distant past, take time to record events as they happen. Block off time each week to document key events while the details of the memory are still fresh. Think of you or your family reading the memory years from now. Provide sufficient detail to bring the memory back to life.
As you record your memories, whether recent or long passed, those special moments will remain forever alive.
