Life is just a memory

Plan to do more memorable things

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that life is mostly made up of memories.
We can anticipate the future, but that is largely unknown.

(00:26):
The present is fleeting memories we truly have. This ratio
means that it might be worth organizing life to pay
a bit more attention to memories than we might naturally
be inclined to do so. When you make your plans
for the day, or for a weekend, or even for

(00:48):
your year, my guess is that there are many criteria.
You figure out what needs to get done, You ask
what other people are doing. You consider what feels relaxing
or what is easiest at the moment. For most of us,
what makes the most or the best memories is not
going to be the primary consideration, And I'm not saying

(01:11):
that it should be, but I think it should be
a bigger consideration than it often is. That is because
life is made up of memories. The future is uncertain.
You can barely think about the present before it is gone.
Memories based on a past that actually happened are the

(01:33):
most known part of our life. Stories when we plan
our lives to optimize memories. We create a story we
will be able to hold onto, one that can make
our lives feel more like they happened, then that they
were completely forgettable. Time feel stretched out. We don't say

(01:57):
where did the time go when we remember where the
time went. What this means in practice is nudging ourselves
to do things that create more memories. These may not
always be the easiest or most comfortable things to do
in the moment, but if we realize that life is
mostly memory, we might be more motivated. For instance, traveling

(02:23):
can be fun, but to be honest, big chunks of
it can be a bother. Plane flights are uncomfortable, so
is sleeping in new beds. Adjusting to uncertainty can be challenging,
as as being apart from familiar routines and foods and
other things. But when you think of your memories of

(02:45):
any given year, I would guess that any major trips
you took are one of the key ways that you
define the year. Oh, yes, that's the summer when we
went to France. My mother in law recently shared some
of her memories with the family in an album she
created for all of us. Many of her recollections had

(03:07):
to do with her travels. Certainly, you will have more
memories of, say, a week spent on a safari, than
a week spent in your apartment. Now, you can't spend
all your weeks on safari, but if you have the
opportunity to take a trip from time to time, it
is probably going to be a better memory than not traveling,

(03:29):
even if not traveling is more comfortable. I have tracked
my time for over seven years now, and I have
recently begun studying my time logs from six years ago,
when the date cycle was the same as it was
for this past year. December being a Monday in both

(03:51):
the normal days of work and kidcare and costco runs
are hard to place. But when I see something unusual
on my log, something a little adventurous, I can conjure
up those memories pretty quickly. Memories make past times feel
more rich and full. Now. Of course, there is nothing

(04:16):
wrong with routines and the normal rhythm of work and
kid care and costco runs, but even any given week
can be made a little different by doing something a
little different. In the deepest days of COVID lockdowns, one
family I know of made a giant game of shoots

(04:36):
and ladders with chalk on their driveway. Life is a memory,
and in normal life that became one. In any case,
as you plan the next week or the next few weeks,
try taking into account what memories you would like to
have of this time. Memories are not just a passive

(04:58):
result of life happening. They are something we can consciously
choose to cultivate. Yes, we can have memories from things
that are just spontaneously occurring, but they are also the
result of our planning them in and choosing to do interesting, adventurous, novel,

(05:20):
intense things. Maybe not every day, but not never either.
When we take memory into account with our plans, we
simply do these things more often. In the meantime, This
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

(05:44):
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
from it. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

(06:06):
number four then breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at i
heeart media dot com. That before Breakfast is spelled out
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

(06:27):
I heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.