Learning ... and Forgetting

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:29:00 -0800

Forgetting seems to be something I'm fairly good at, and most of the time consider embarrassing (like when I left the light on in the car overnight!). Recent science seems to indicate that forgetting isn't as bad a thing as once thought. If you didn't forget the depressing and negative things that have happened in your life, you might be stuck in that depressing state for years. If you have millions of useless memories and ideas jumping around in your head, they just might prevent you from observing something new that you hadn't noticed before.

That is, people who are good at forgetting information they don’t need are also good at problem-solving and at remembering something when they’re being distracted with other information. (http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/10/19/how-forgetting-helps-memory/30494.html)

Children often have the most fantastic attitudes. Their eyes are wide open to the world, they are sponges sopping up information as fast as they can, often eager and willing to learn. But that attitude changes over time. Eventually they know all the answers. They stop learning. Then they become a new class of individual who only shoots down the same sorts of ideas they eagerly learned earlier in life. While they start out with a view on life that explores new ideas, they end up becoming closed to learning and growing.

I love to learn, to explore, and discuss new and different perspectives -- even those that I don't necessarily agree with. I think one of the things that our culture has lost is the ability to really discuss ideas that we disagree with. There is a ton of information available to people in our age, but most of us have no idea how to organize it, how to act upon it, and what to do with it. We read and read and read ... and some of that stuff we read a long time ago needs to be forgotten. I would hope that today you are smarter, that you have moved on to a better place.

Learning and applying what we learn is important. It's also important to forget things, events, and moments that were harmful or painful. I believe those emotions that were stored up and never resolved will eventually turn you into a bitter person if you don't take care to forgive and move on. If the world is forever a fearful and dangerous place you will never be able to look at life with the eyes of a child, or have hope that things will grow better.

So rather than trying to become less forgetful, I'd encourage you to embrace forgetfulness ... but in a more focused manner. Is something driving you crazy or making you anxious? Something from the past that should have been resolved? Focus on selectively forgetting ... forget the offenses of the past, the project you didn't want to do, the hurts of the past, letting go of abusive relationships. Don't live in the past. Forgive, forget, move on ... enjoy your life, and learn something new every day!

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@StephenMayer

Learning ... and Forgetting

Reading in 2011