So you just forgot what I told you, just five minutes ago! What's wrong with your memory? why can't you remember what I just said! .

Can you remember being told off at school or at work for not remembering what was said?

If you can, then you have just retrieved the memories that are held in your long term memory store.

Because within your long term memory ,the amazing thing is that you are capable of storing lots of memories and then being able to recall them easily. This is because your long term memories are linked to your emotions

Also your long term memories provide triggers for remembering what works and what doesn't. like learning a new skill . Some people say they have intuition about something and will make a decision based on that. Although it is more likely that person has used skills thet have stored in their long term memory and the experience that forms that intuitive thought.

Let me give you an example of long term memory; try to think back to your earliest happiest memory that you can think of, Most people should be able to think back to when they was younger, maybe being a school with friends. You should even be able to picture the scenary perfectly and also feel the emotion how you felt at this time, this is a powerful feeling, your brain is recalling the images and creating a vivid memory for you.

Now that you have recalled this memory, I want you to try to remember the exact age you was at this time, perhaps try to remember the month, the day, or even the time. Now unless this happy memory was your birthday, you will most definitely find that you cannot remember any of those details, but why is that, we can remember what we saw and felt at that time but cannot remember specific details about the time and event. This is because the details of the event do not hold emotional attachments.

Short term memory

However when you use your short term memory, which we tend to rely on more often, you will find it is the opposite of your long term memory..Your short term memory has limited capacity for retaining information and it lets you down and you forget!

The reality is that you are able to recall recent events and information fleetingly and then only sometimes for a few minutes. This is because you are relying on your short term memory.

Your short term memory struggles with amongst other things for example with remembering lists of words and numbers.

Thank goodness for your shopping list, as now you have more chance of remembering what you need, because your memory can remember things more easily when they are visual to you,

So! now you can see that writing things down is an important aid to your memory. There are lots of other memory techniques that you can learn that will help your memory as well.

Listening to someone giving you information will only recall a little of that conversation and you may easily forget it. You would draw on your long term memory. Knowing how limited your memory can be is useful to help you think about the strategies that will improve your memory and learning