Everyone wants to have a good memory. It is essential for career success. But there are a multitude of factors that impede memory. Common memory reducers include things like lack of sleep, stress, vitamin deficiency and trauma. Less common memory cripplers include such factors as illness, diseases such as Alzheimers, poor blood flow to the brain, brain hemorrhages or injuries, and tumors. Beyond all these, there are a multitude of additional variables – such as ways that the brain works — that impact memory. Often memory is affected in ways that neurologists haven’t even begun to understand. Indeed, scientists agree that memory is one of the functions of brain that is still not well understood.

However, every day, researchers are learning more about memory…. How memory works and how it can be helped to work better. While memory research had previously been focused on what happens when a memory is first formed and on what happens when a memory is retrieved, it is the in-between time when it appears many aspects of memory storage happens. Numerous studies are finding that sleep is actually an important tool in the memory retention process. Here are the latest strategies and research on sleep and how it may be the key to improving memory.
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Professionals are always looking to have an edge over their competitors. Most people want to be successful, and bring their “A Game” to every endeavor. A big part of performance in any career is mental capacity, acuity, and agility. Memory plays a big part in that. However, until the last few decades, scientists and doctors understood very little about how memory works, where memories are stored, and what might improve or harm memory. But in the last 50 years, science has made great strides in understanding memory and the human brain.

Indeed, memory is one of the purposes of the brain, and it is described as the ability to protect acquired information consciously and connect it with the past. Having a good memory is a crucial ability in everyone’s life. History is peppered with scholars and leaders whose memories were so remarkable that they never forgot any information they learned in the past. Simonides of Ceos who lived 5th century BC was able to keep in his memory thousands of poems. Cicero was known for his ability to remember names. Ferdinand Marcos, the former Philippine dictator, claimed to have memorized complicated texts in one glance. He could recite the Philippine Constitution forward and backward. He also passed the Bar Exam in 1939 with an almost perfect score at 98%. When his score was contested and he was forced to retake an oral Bar Examination, he got a perfect score.

Everyone wishes they had such a good memory. However, many people complain about forgetfulness and weakness of memory. Nowadays, forgetfulness has become a very common problem among both young and older people. There are many variables that can impact memory. Let’s dub them memory killers. Here are just a few. Continue reading →

Pride is one of those puzzling traits that is seen at times as a positive and sometimes as a negative. On the one hand, we are encouraged to be proud of our accomplishments. Training seminars tout the need to take pride in the work we do. From a very young age, we are told that we should be proud to be Americans. We are expected to be proud of our accomplishments and of the accomplishments of our children and family. We hear things like: “Show some pride!” “Stand Up for yourself!” “Walk tall!” “Don’t be a doormat!” “Be proud of who you are!” “Stick out your chest and hold your head high!”

On the other hand, haughty pride is seen as the opposite of the spirit of humility. The proud are seen as so blinded by their pride that they think there is no higher power. So is pride a quality or a flaw? For example, is it wrong for an Olympic athlete to know they’re good at their sport? What is the dividing line between recognizing the truth about oneself and being prideful? Is it okay to have pride in one’s work or be proud of one’s accomplishments? How does pride impact a person’s work? Where is the line between being appropriately culturally confident and being prideful? Continue reading →

Over the last two weeks we looked at the role of motivation and inspiration in success. Most people who are successful have both internal sources of motivation and external sources of inspiration. Combined, they provide a great deal of the impetus that makes things happen. But the truth is that even the most successful, driven people have times when there are neither motivated nor inspired. At those times, the job still has to get done.

When motivation and inspiration both run out, that is when it is time to rely on the good, old-fashioned work ethic. The most successful people know that there is no substitute for hard work. Long after bursts of motivation run dry and sparks of inspiration fizzle out, perspiration – rolling up the sleeves and putting the nose to the grindstone — is what carries the day. Forget the adage about ‘working smarter, not harder.’ At the end of the day, evidence shows that what is often needed most is just simple hard work. Here’s why. Continue reading →

Speak to anyone involved in doing something creative for a living, and you are bound to hear a lot about inspiration. Artists. Musicians. Entrepreneurs. Writers. Actors. Inventors. Photographers. Architects. Most will reference muses or sources of inspiration. For some, it is divine inspiration. For others, inspiration comes from nature… the light, the ocean, mountains, or sky. Still others are inspired by people and their stories… a muse or coach. Inspiration is the stimulation from an outside source that spurs a person to special or unusual activity or creativity. But since inspiration comes from outside, it is often out of one’s control. For some, inspiration is like lightning… it strikes and then is gone.
So how does one ‘find’ inspiration? If it is an external source, is it possible to seek inspiration? And can someone set out to inspire another? Is inspiration completely spontaneous, or is it something that can be attained, given or harnessed? Continue reading →

Much has been written about both motivation and inspiration. People often use the words ‘motivated’ and ‘inspired’ interchangeably. Yet, the two words are actually not synonymous.
Motivation is when an individual brings his/her own impetus to a job, task or action. According to Websters, it is defined as “the force that drives an organism to act towards a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains goal-directed behaviors.” Motivation is rooted in a basic impulse to optimize well-being, minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure. For example, when a person is motivated to do a job well, there is an internal force compelling him/her to optimize their own well-being. What triggers the motivation might be an internal value such as wanting to do a job well or desiring to overcome a challenge, or the trigger may be an external factor such as getting recognition, be promoted, get a raise or earn a bonus. But regardless of whether the trigger comes from within or outside, the motivation to act is a personal force.
Inspiration, on the other hand, is not an internal, personal force. It is a stimulation from an outside source that spurs a person to special or unusual activity or creativity. Inspiration can come from another person that acts like a muse or coach. There is also divine inspiration; a spiritual push or rousing that compels or prompts a person to act.
Although they might lead to the same outcome, what differentiates them has to do with the source. Motivation – even when linked to external forces – ultimately comes from within whereas inspiration comes from outside. Motivation is a personal responsibility while inspiration is the responsibility of others. Let’s start with our own behavior. How does one motivate oneself? Continue reading →