To be able to use your memory properly and make use of its full power, you must practice retention and recall.
Retention means getting the information in your memory. Recall means using the retained memory.
There are ways to improve the proper use of your memory through retention and recall. Read on and find out how (from LifeMax's The Power of the Mind).
Six essential keys to improve memory retention:
1.) PAY ATTENTION
Your goal is to make clear and deep impressions of the things you want to remember. The entire clarity and depth of the memory will come from the degree of attention and concentration you first give to the subject matter.
2.) PERCEPTION
Have a mental reaction, a thought, and perceive the thing to be remembered. It is not enough that you just remember -- you must remember "what?"
3.) VISUALIZATION
If you want to remember a thing, see it in your mind. Visualize the thing to remember. Close your eyes and picture it. Practice remembering in mental pictures.
4.) UNDERSTAND
The greater your knowledge and understanding of something, the easier it is to remember. Therefore, learn all you can about the thing to remember.
5.) ASSOCIATION
Associate the thing to remember with something else. Give it a partner. This is an excellent method for both retention and recall of your memory.
6.) REPETITION
Hammer it in! The best way to really remember something is to understand it, visualize it, then repeat it over and over and over again. Hammer it in through solid repetition.
Three essential keys to improve memory recall:
1.) MAKE THE ASSOCIATION
Take a mental fishing line, bait the hook with the association and throw it down into the depths of the inner consciousness until it catches.
2.) VIGOROUS RETENTION
Once you have recalled the thing you wanted to remember, send it back with renewed force. The next time you will be able to remember it right away.
3.) DEMAND AND EXPECT
Demand infallible memory recall from your mental powerhouse and always expect to get it.