Memory Minders

Stimulating Enrichment Services
to Enhance Memory & Wellness
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
    • Groups
    • Speaking
    • Individual
    • MemoryMinders Academy
  • Blog
  • Contact

April 15, 2018

Cultivating Change

The sun is slowly making more of an appearance however limited it is. Its shining prompts us to think of Spring and the inevitable changes to come. Often changes in life can be stressful or not wanted. But just as we cultivate new life in Spring, we can cultivate our approach to change and use it to make memorable moments.

Regardless of whether we have a green thumb or not, it’s difficult to not appreciate the beauty of Spring. Gray and brown give way to green, yellow, and pink. Many of us try to increase the level of beauty by cultivating plants or flowers. I’m a fan of perennials and their recurring blooms and low maintenance. But it’s hard to beat show-stopping annual flowers or the bounty of a well-tended vegetable garden.

Cultivating anything worthwhile demands our time and attention. Whether it’s tending blooming flowers, luscious fruits and vegetables or nurturing a talent or gift, our focus is required. To succeed, effort is necessary and sometimes things don’t always go our way. Seasons change, mother nature intervenes, or other factors and people beyond our control impact our labors. What we do and think in these moments matters.

How we adjust and adapt to changes in something we are cultivating is important. We plan, put in time and effort and then things change. It can cause us to feel mad, sad, or even throw up our hands and give up. While it’s natural to feel emotion, in these moments one of the best things to do is persevere. Perhaps the perseverance involves waiting, changing our previous plans or even abandoning them for a different course of action. But let’s not give up, instead let’s cultivate the change.

Just as we would put time and effort into our original endeavor, the way through change is to persevere and cultivate our reactions and attitude. When change is on the horizon or even at the moment it hits us, our first responses aren’t always positive. But what if in those moments, we attempt to see what’s good about the change?

Maybe the change will open up an avenue or choice we’d never have dreamed of without it. Perhaps in the process of adapting to the change, we’ll learn new things or meet new people we wouldn’t have otherwise. Possibly this change can lead us to an even greater achievement, experience or life purpose. But none of these will happen if we don’t cultivate our reactions and attitude to see change differently.

Sometime this week, something is going to happen to change things up for us. Little things happen daily, but maybe a bigger change will occur. How will we adapt to see good in the change? Try cultivating a different response to adapt and embrace changes this week. See how it makes you and those around you feel. It’s my bet that the slight adjustment of cultivating our responses to change will help us to make even more memorable moments.

signature

Leave a Comment • Filed Under: Attention, Attitude, Habits, Memory, Stress, Tips, Wellness Tagged With: Attention, Attitude, Habits, Identity, Memory, Mindful Monday, Strategies, wellness

April 8, 2018

Make Everyday Moments Memorable

Birthdays, anniversaries, and other circled dates on the calendar remind us of past memories and those yet to be made. Among the routine of every day, special dates give us something to look forward to, to anticipate; a time to make memorable moments. But let’s also not forget how memorable everyday moments can be as well.

April in my world brings a plethora of special dates-typically Easter and so many birthdays abound. It’s an opportunity to make special memories around special people and events with importance in our lives. But everyday moments can often bring about the same specialness-if only we are present and aware enough to experience them.

Much of memory making comes from being fully present in the moments we want to capture. Younger people have a proclivity to capture anything and everything in a photo or selfie and then broadcast it to the world. While that may be fun and helpful in many ways, if we are only focused on capturing the best picture, we may lose truly seeing and encoding the moment in our memory.

A study years ago demonstrated those who take more pictures have a lesser memory of an event. We’d tend to think the opposite was true, but when we fully experience a moment instead of just snapping it onto a camera, we can fully remember it better. Yes, the picture may jog our memory, but really experiencing it encodes it more fully into our memory.

For me, it comes down to balance, like most of our memory habits. One of my focuses this year is to strive to be more fully present. On my other blog, I wrote a series on how I’m trying to #BePresent and am striving toward this in all I do. However, I love photography and my new camera is a new favorite toy.

Yet while snapping away recently, I realized how marking a memory comes more than from a picture. It’s about the moment, the people, the feelings and their impact in our lives that matter. Yes, the picture may help evoke a moment, but the memory needs to be made in our hearts and minds first.

Just having returned from time away and sharing special days with those I love has reinforced my goal to be even more present in the everyday. Memorable moments stem from both the every day and the special to bind our lives and memories together.

Look around today. What people, events, or stolen moments can we truly be present with to experience more fully? How will we remember and how will they shape our days and futures? How can we plan for a special day for ourselves or others that we can circle in anticipation of future memories to be made?

Life is full of moments both routine and remarkable. Let’s be present and focus on what is happening in our small little corners of the world today. Circled special days are wonderful to look forward to, but let’s not miss the small moments that make up the fabric of our lives. It’s in these where we make all our moments memorable.

signature

Leave a Comment • Filed Under: Attention, Habits, Identity, Memory, Research, Wellness Tagged With: Attention, Habits, Identity, Memory, Mindful Monday, Research, wellness

April 1, 2018

A Fresh Start

Turning the calendar to April always feels a bit like a new beginning. It’s the fourth month but in many ways, it feels like a fresh start. Spring is coming and April heralds its brilliance beautifully. New life sprouts from the earth, brighter colors flood the landscape, and animals are birthed in the fresh breezes of April. It’s also a great time to start anew on our memory wellness choices.

Let’s honor and begin this new month with a fresh perspective on how we approach our memory. What are you doing today to positively impact your memory in ten, twenty or thirty years? It’s not something we think of each morning, but we should. What we do today determines how well we’ll remember in our later years. Makes you think, doesn’t it?

So let’s begin this month by consciously choosing to improve and enhance our memory and overall wellness by what we do each day. These choices don’t have to be big, but they will add up to a huge impact over time. Our lifestyle choices are like compound interest for our wellness.

Here are a few ideas on how to start fresh on memory wellness choices:

  • Going to work? Park further away, take the stairs, walk at lunch and/or move each hour to insert more exercise into your day.
  • Eating today? Add or swap in some colorful, brain healthy foods to assist your memory and overall wellness.
  • Feeling Stressed? Step back from the situation to get a better perspective. Shift your attitude and manage the stress to avoid chronic illnesses and the brain limiting effects it can create.
  • Feeling Sluggish? Get up and exercise both mind and body as well as taking steps toward good quality and quantity of sleep each night.
  • Can’t remember like you used to? Stop and ask yourself if you’re doing too much or not enough. Doing too much distracts and steals our focus which hampers memory. Not doing enough mentally or physically leads to atrophy of brain cells which doesn’t allow the brain to access memories successfully. Organize and prioritize your time to remember well.

All of us can benefit from a fresh start for our memories and there’s no better time as we begin a new month and season. Every choice we make matters in this life. Are we making choices that will help or hamper our memory in the future? The choice is ours;  let’s choose well and make a fresh start for our memory today!

signature

Leave a Comment • Filed Under: Attention, Attitude, Brain fitness, Exercise, Habits, Memory, Nutrition, Sleep, Social, Stress, Tips, Wellness Tagged With: Brain, exercise, Food, Habits, Memory, Mental fitness, Mindful Monday, Sleep, Strategies, wellness

March 11, 2018

Circles of Life

Geometry is not my thing but it seems life moves in circles or repeating cycles. The Earth revolves around the sun, the moon revolves around the Earth, seasons, time, and even our own habits are cyclical. Sometimes our circular life habits become so ingrained, we lose the wonder or stimulation of life, especially when memory wanes. But we can also use these patterns to help.

In honor of Pi Day later this week (3/14 because the first 3 digits of pi are 3.14), I’ve been thinking of circles, life, and patterns. (Quick-remembers what pi is? Circles are the clue-answer at the end of the post.) Life’s cyclical nature is often soothing and welcoming. Spring always follows winter, day precedes night, we are born, grow, age and die. It’s the circle of life. Details and time frames shift, but just like pi, the patterns are constant. Helping our memory can be that way too.

To strengthen memory in our middle to later years, it’s important to create habits like eating brain-healthy foods, exercising our body, sleeping well, managing stress, using memory techniques and socializing. These habits help our bodies and memory age well. But what’s also extremely important is stepping out of our comfortable habits and stretching our brains.

When we act and think differently than our normal routine, we use and make more brain cell connections. This strengthens our cognitive reserve and provides a solid foundation for a better memory as we age. Making patterns is good, but using our brains to learn and grow is great.

Cyclical patterns make shortcuts that expend less energy once those habits are learned. These are extremely helpful in young to middle age when so much vies for our attention. However, as we get older these shortcuts cause us to use less of our brain power. If we aren’t doing anything additional to stimulate our brains, those unused areas will atrophy. The ideal goal is to utilize habits when needed, but continue to learn and grow brain cell connections.

Slowly, life’s circle shifts to our later years and at times, a fading memory. It’s here when familiar or cyclical patterns can be the most comforting and helpful. Change is increasingly difficult as we age and while I advocate for learning new things to increase brainpower, too much of this is stressful and detrimental to a much older person with memory loss.

So how do we balance using familiar patterns and learning new? The answer depends on the individual. For active young, middle and older adults, it’s critical to make and sustain healthy habits while continuing to learn new things. This also applies to those with very early stage memory issues without creating too much stress in the process. But for those experiencing middle to late stage memory issues, simply remembering familiar patterns is stressful and learning new can be incredibly stressful.

The cycle of life is a constant pattern in our world. Understanding how to create and use life wellness patterns is useful in life’s cycle. Even more important is learning how we can use these as we care for others and/or experience our own memory changes with age. Let’s not simply observe the circles of life, but actively utilize habits in each stage to assist us!

Answer: Pi is the ratio of the circumference of any circle divided by its diameter. The number Pi, denoted by the Greek letter π – pronounced ‘pie’, is one of the most common constants in all of mathematics. 

signature

Leave a Comment • Filed Under: Attention, Brain fitness, Exercise, Habits, Memory, Nutrition, Sleep, Social, Stress, Tips, Wellness Tagged With: Attention, Brain, exercise, Food, Habits, Memory, Mental fitness, Mindful Monday, Sleep, social, Strategies, stress, wellness

February 25, 2018

Details or Big Picture

Are you a detail or big picture person? We’ve all heard the saying “can’t see the forest for the trees” which essentially means one gets so engulfed in details, they lose sight of the big picture. Both details and big pictures in life are important, yet we naturally gravitate toward one or the other mainly because of our brain dominance.

Last month, my friend Ted did a podcast in which he gave a great visual for this particular saying about the forest and the trees. Take a listen and you’ll maybe have an aha moment like Ted did! I’m a detail person and it often takes a change in perspective or a conscious reminder for me to step back and see the bigger picture of projects, life events or even daily activities. Shifting my perspective to the big picture takes effort; it’s not my sweet spot.  If you’re a big picture person, maybe paying attention to the minute details drives you crazy, but at some point, it’s necessary to function well in life. Either way, doing the opposite of what’s comfortable is beneficial for our brains and our lives.

We all have a natural tendency toward one side of our brain as more dominant than the other. But our brain is meant to function as a whole. When all we do is rely on our strengths and what’s comfortable, we’ll never really see both the forest AND the trees of life. So let’s make sure we switch up our perspective every so often. That was the intent of my blog series in January highlighting different people and their perspectives. It’s good to change things up and look at things from a new angle, not only because it creates new ideas and views, but also more brain connections.

When we use our non-dominant side or step out of our comfort zone of thinking, we are utilizing the other side of our brain that is not our natural strength. The more we do this, the more we strengthen those brain cells and grow our cognitive reserve. This cognitive reserve can assist us in everyday life and as we age.

Studies have shown those with large cognitive reserve usually function better as they age, have stronger memories and can withstand the physical onslaught of brain degenerative diseases. What great motivation! It allows the connections in our brain to grow and stay strong, which will only help as we grow older. So if shifting my perspective towards the ‘forest’ a bit more will assist me in aging well, to me that’s a no-brainer! 🙂

This week, let’s all shift our focus and perspective. Initially, it may be a bit more uncomfortable but then take it slow in small increments. Seek out the opinions and input of opposite minded people. Take a wider view if you’re into the details or hone in on the specifics if you prefer the big picture. Try to use your non-dominant side in benign activities like brushing your teeth or hair and see how it’s not that easy! Remind yourself that even it’s a little harder, you’re strengthening your cognitive reserve.

Let’s step out of our boxes and see both the forest and trees of our moments to make them even more memorable!

signature

Leave a Comment • Filed Under: Habits, Identity, Tips, Wellness Tagged With: Brain, Habits, Identity, Mindful Monday, Strategies, wellness

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 24
  • Next Page »

Welcome to The MemoryMinders Blog!
This will be updated frequently 
with new and interesting info on memory wellness and MemoryMinders news. Posts
will include new research breakthroughs impacting memory wellness, tips and strategies for everyday memory wellness, how
to implement lifestyle changes
that assist memory and more! 
Sign up below to get these updates delivered right to your email box

Sign up for weekly resources on mind & memory wellness and receive a beautiful Coloring Page as my gift to you!

Tags

Attention Attitude Brain Caregivers exercise Food Habits Identity Learning Styles Memory Memory Makeover Mental fitness Mindful Monday Mindful Winter Warm Up Research Senses Sleep social Spring into Wellness Challenge Strategies stress wellness

Search My Site

Latest Facebook Post

Memoryminders

3 days ago

Memoryminders

Blessed to love Sharon as a friend who's family. Her life is a testament on what to do when life hands us lemons. Check out this article then go buy some of her great products-all proceeds going to research! buff.ly/2JRbGRF #ParkinsonsAwarenessMonth ...

Photo

"Our memory is who we are,
were and hope to be. Our memories are our identity. MemoryMinders mission is to enhance and sustain that identity through memory wellness.”
– Jill Hoven

Connect With Us


PH. 262.707.9387

Copyright © 2018 MemoryMinders LLC · Site Design by The Design Diva