NOW, IN MY EARLY 60s, I AM NOTICING SOME CHANGES in my processing speed. This change has affected my short-term memory, which has become a bottleneck, reducing my acquisition and encoding of long-term memory. Unlocking your brain power is our focus today.
This essay will address my approach to memory and focus.
Borges’ Take on Memory
Have you read Borges and Memory: Encounters with the Human Brain by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga?
This fascinating book explores Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo, an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet, and translator.
Let me give you a quick synopsis of Borges’ Funes the Memorious.
In this extraordinary tale, the protagonist possesses an extraordinary memory, capturing even the minutest details with piercing clarity.
Funes remembers every single detail. He is understandably paralyzed.
However, Funes grapples with abstraction, finding it elusive and beyond his comprehension.
Quiroga’s Take on Borges’ Take on Memory
Picture the amazement of neuroscientist Rodrigo Quian Quiroga when he discovered a striking similarity between his research and a story written by the renowned Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges fifty years earlier.
Quian Quiroga investigates how the brain stores memories, a puzzle that has puzzled scientists for years.
Despite using modern tools like brain imaging and having access to vast amounts of information, Borges seemed to have already understood the core of Quian Quiroga’s discoveries long before science confirmed them.
Quiroga’s Modern Findings About Memory
The modern Quian Quiroga discovered human brain neurons responsive to abstract concepts (but largely ignore particular details).
He became fascinated by Borges’s imagining of the consequences of remembering every detail (but incapable of abstraction).
“We are our memory,
we are that chimerical museum of shifting shapes,
that pile of broken mirrors.”
― Jorge Luis Borges, In Praise of Darkness
I hope you read some of Borges’ work. He is a favorite of mine.
Let’s turn to my strategies for mastering focus and memory.
1. I Listen Deeply
When a patient chats with me, I look at the individual and listen carefully.
I admit that my mind, on occasion, can wander.
When that happens, if I miss something, I ask the person to repeat their words.
I am at my best when I sit quietly, without interruption.
2. I Reinforce What I Hear
Mirroring subtly mimics the language, tone, gestures, posture, and facial expressions of the person you are talking to.
The approach is linked to emotional regulation, conflict reduction, and increased cooperation.
No, I don’t mean you should parrot the person before you.
Rather, mirroring is about being respectful, remarkably attentive, and authentic.
Does Mirroring Work?
I searched the clinical literature and discovered some interesting benefits of mirroring.
Do you want to increase your sales? Mirror.
Sales clerks who mirror achieve more positive evaluations and higher sales.
The study authors concluded in 2003, “Mimicry helps managers develop positive relationships between their sellers and customers.”
Mirroring, Mimicry, and Seduction
What about mimicry and seduction?
During six speed-dating sessions held at two bars, young women volunteers participated in an experiment in which they either mimicked or refrained from mimicking certain verbal and nonverbal behaviors of a man for five minutes.
Here are the results of Gueguen’s 2009 investigation:
Men tend to view women who mirror their behavior more positively during speed dating encounters.
In summary, mimicking strangers’ verbal and nonverbal behavior enhances the liking of the individual who mimicked them.
3. I Paraphrase
Do you paraphrase the utterances of others? I do.
If you offer, “We can go to the cafe in Kirkland at 12:00 or Starbucks Reserve in Seattle at 12:30.”
I might respond: “Which would you prefer, 12:00 in Kirkland or 12:30 at the Starbucks Reserve?”
4. I Try to Avoid Distractions
This last one is difficult to achieve for physicians.
Focus.
Do one thing at a time.
When it comes to patients, I avoid interruptions. Of course, there are times when another patient needs immediate attention, but I try.
Final Thoughts – Unlocking Brain Power
I constantly evaluate my experience with my patients.
Did I not interrupt for at least several minutes?
Did I position myself at a level lower than my patient? Are my arms folded (so I appear less warm)?
Did I mirror my patient’s movements?
There is no greater joy than helping (and bonding with) someone who needs your help navigating a cancer journey.
“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
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