Most of the time, we don’t treat our mind or memory with the respect it deserves. We tell ourselves lies to try to convince ourselves that something will go in the direction we want it to go in. We tell ourselves lies to try to protect our feelings. We tell ourselves lies when we try to please others. We tell ourselves lies all the time. And it sucks. We really need to stop doing this.

This is where the importance of self-love, self-awareness, and self-confidence needs to come into play in our lives. The more we trust ourselves to do what’s best for us, and our own lives, the more authentic we’ll be.

Here are a handful of lies we tell ourselves, in no particular order. Some of these thoughts may be more significant to one person over another. What I want you to take away from these “fibs” is the adaptability of it into your own life. The way I present it may not directly affect you, but see how you can find a similar way you’re applying it to your own experiences.

Benefits of Mindfulness: The “I’ll remember that” Lie

Yupppp, we’ve all been there. There is something of importance that you know you’re going to need to know later and instead of writing it down, you tell yourself you’ll remember it. How does that tend to work out for you? If you’re like me, not very well. I’m constantly cursing old Beth for not writing something down. You think we’d learn our lesson, right? Nope. We just keep on doing it.

Here’s the kicker, though. If it was really THAT important, you would have written it down. If it was meant to be a priority, you would have taken the time to make it a priority. The fact that you’re not afraid to say “oops, I forgot” is a very clear sign of how you treat yourself.

Don’t worry, though, that’s totally fine. This isn’t always a bad thing. You would also have a hard time if you did choose every little thing to be a priority and considered everything to be significant. Pay attention to how you treat your mind and your memory. Are you constantly trying to store pointless little things in your mind that cause clutter and forgetfulness? Or are you saving space to remember meaningful moments and experiences? These everyday choices that you make are part of your habit cycle.

How To Break The Forgetfulness Cycle

I have a mindset tip to help you become more self-aware of these daily instances: switch-up the way you try to remember things to free up your mind. Instead of trying to remember the little things and only writing down the big things, create a new system.

Try some of these tips to clear up space in your mind:

• Set alarms for certain daily/weekly things you tend to forget (trash day, bill due dates, password authentication app).
• Keep a log of seasonal things, when you last did it, and when you need to re-schedule (oil change, doctor check-ups, HVAC filter replacement).
• Unsubscribe from emails, marketing texts, or subscriptions that are cluttering up your notifications making you more likely to miss important stuff coming through.
• Say it out loud, or tell someone else what you need to do/remember, especially if they will be with you (hey, can you help remind me that we need to pick up milk on the way home today?).
• Keep a notepad in the car, or use speech to text on your phone to send yourself reminders when you think of something while driving. Those are things we often forget about because we’re multitasking.
• JOURNAL IT OUT! This is one of my favorite life hacks. Journaling helps clear the mind. It helps get the thoughts out that have been hopelessly swirling around in your brain. Journaling can create clarity.

Using Mindfulness and Meditation To Boost Memory

You know I can’t write a post without including the benefits of mindfulness and meditation! These two things do absolute wonders in refocusing your brain. The good news is that it doesn’t take a 30 minute meditation to begin to see a difference. When you forget something, simply pause and take a deep breath. Focus on yourself in that present moment, not the thing that you can’t remember. Focus on yourself and your surroundings. Don’t panic or get frustrated. Pause and breathe. Pause and breathe. Re-center your mind and your nervous system.

Will this help you immediately remember what you walked into the room to do? Not necessarily. But it will help you find clarity and purpose in this moment and, again, it breaks the habit cycle and will create less harsh judgement of yourself to help you figure it out later. Stressing to figure out what you forgot won’t make yourself immediately remember either. So you can either take the more stressful route, or the less stressful route. I know what I’m picking!

Pick a mindfulness strategy to help you

What method from this post are you choosing to help you remember things? Leave a comment ⬇️ and let’s chat about what we’re most forgetful about and how we can work though it!

If you want a meditation to help boost your self-awareness around memory and being present, check out this one on my YouTube Channel!