This Is Me A Few Years Ago
My name is Banji and I am an information addict. (This is the part where you say – “Hi Banji!”)
I used to read every words in the book and tried to get as much
wisdom from it as possible. I would then take notes and sometime try my
best to memorize what I just read.
In the past, I even took note from watching the Discovery Channel so I can quote them later.
Why Doing Everything Twice Can Be A Problem
Clearly this is NOT the way to go. If I continue
taking note from the books I read, I will spend half of my life
rewriting all the books I read. It is very likely that I will never even
read the notes. It’s just like buying a DVD with the intention of
rewatching it when you have free time, in the end, the DVD is just
collecting dust somewhere in your room.
In short, some people (myself included) really like to do everything
twice or thrice. If we read a book, we will reread it a couple more time
to make sure we don’t miss anything. If we like a movie, we will
rewatch it again and again just to enjoy it. However this is not a very
productive habit.
You may now ask “So what’s the problem?”.
If you think about it, there shouldn’t be any problem. You will be
able to memorize a whole novel or an encyclopaedia (Who reads
encyclopaedia anyway?) or you will be able to enjoy your favorite movies
instead of all the rubbish on other channels,
The truth is, you are actually depleting your most valuable resource pointlessly – Time.
An average human is estimated to live up to 70 years. Just imagine
spending 70 years rereading the same 10 books or watching the same 10
movies Don’t you think it is a waste of your time? In that 70 years you
should be able to finish at least 1200 books (if you read 2 books
monthly since age 20).
Why can’t we do everything just one time and still get the benefit of people redoing it a thousand times?
The following tips may help you to do just that.
1) Remember the 10
When you read a book, make it a point to list down 10 lessons you can
extract from it. For example, if you read this article, just try to
remember the 3 points listed here. After you finish reading it, repeat
that 3 points in your mind and you don’t need to reread this article
ever again.
Of course if you are reading a motivational book, try to memorize 10
points from what you have just read. If you found your 10 points but you
are still on page 20, stop reading for the day. Continue reading
tomorrow for another 10 points.
Another example is when you are reading a novel. Try to visualize all
the key events in the story. Once you reached that 10 points, you can
stop reading for the day. Repeat the story in your mind based on the 10
key events and continue reading the novel tomorrow.
You get the picture.
2) Forbid yourself from redoing what’s done
This is usually the hardest part. It’s very hard to keep your hand
off from rereading what you have read yesterday. Just remember that you
don’t have the time to redo everything in your life. Be slightly firm
with this.
Even if you forget the story or the 10 points from yesterday, just
continue reading. Believe me, the memory will resurface and when it
does, it will be even harder to forget it later.
3) Have faith in your mind
Do you know that our brain is one of the most amazing things in the
world. Studies have been done on the mind for thousands of years and we
still barely scratch the surface of its true potential.
There’s a case featured on Discovery Channel not long ago about a
woman who fall down a cliff and broke her knee. She was alone in the
forest and she should not be able to survive without any help. Somehow,
her subconcious mind realized that if she was in pain, there’s no way
she would be able to get help, so the brain had stopped the pain neural
system from sending pain messages to the brain. She didn’t feel any pain
at all. In the end, she manage to walk for miles and get help even with
her broken knee. Amazing!
I’m sorry I can’t put a reference link to the story, but it really is a true story.
In short, what ever you want, your mind will make it happen. Never
underestimate what it capable of doing. Once you have memorize the 10
points, it will be stored permanently in your brain. Believe in this.
You just need to know how to retrieve it effectively. I will elaborate
on this in the future.