Page 231 - Mind Games The Aging Brain and How to Keep it Healthy

Enjoy Your Ageless Mental Agility • 215

These were the strategies used for successful retrieval in
the study previously described:

• 27 percent use an alphabet strategy. (I know it starts
with a “b.”)
• 10 percent use a visualization strategy. (Where was
the last time I saw those?)
• 26 percent use an association strategy. (Let’s see, I
know that he works with Janet...)
• 37 percent use a pop-into-the-head (in a blinding
flash of light) strategy. 4

So if you just know you have the answer to the exercises
and games, try one of the strategies just mentioned and give
yourself two to three minutes to locate and retrieve the
needed information before you give up on yourself.
Are any of these strategies and techniques new? Are you
learning a new skill? In the beginning, it is hard to remem-
ber details (such as how to decide what the next number in
a series is), but with more repetition and experience, you
can create more associations and remember strategies easily
and efficiently.
Does it take longer to learn? It may while you are inte-
grating new techniques. Don’t be discouraged. Keep these
tips in mind:

• Be aware. Now you know you may have to work
harder.

• Pay attention. Concentrate on what you really want to
remember.

• Associate. Associate what you want to know with what
you already know.

• Practice remembering. Choose a technique and try it
out.

Do you recall Gardner’s multiple intelligences presented
in Chapter 2? We used them to identify the various areas of