The path to lasting memories and learning in a world of distractions

I've been reading a lot lately, like a ton for me. This holiday, I've read six books in the past two months. I know for some that is pitiful, and for others, that is a whole year's worth of books. The things I'm gaining from sitting down is knowledge, which is a given when you read non-fiction. However, the thing I'm learning the most is routine, discipline, and a constructive distraction from cheap dopamine hits. I no longer pick up my phone to doom scroll. Instead, if I get sick of reading, I just do something else. For example, I take a walk, make some wholesome food, or do the dishes. After a while, I'll get bored, write an article, or pick the book up again and get back to reading.

The idea of forcing yourself isn't healthy, I think, but being okay with boredom is a superpower. Being bored isn't pleasant, and sitting in your boredom on purpose seems like the most stupid thing someone could do when there is a plethora of other activities at someone's mere fingertips. Social media is an escape; it's also addictive, and informative while also being entertaining. This is all true; the more I think about it, though, I hardly get anything from social media in terms of retention. I don't remember yesterday's posts or videos. You know that saying, easy come, easy go. But when I read a book, I retain almost all the knowledge through slow reading, highlighting, and reviewing my notes.

“I would advise you to read with a pen in your hand, and enter in a little book short hints of what you find that is curious or that may be useful; for this will be the best method of imprinting such particulars in your memory.” – Benjamin Franklin

While the path of learning may be challenging, it is often in the struggle that memories are etched deepest. The effort invested in mastering a difficult task becomes the ink that ensures what is learned is remembered. The harder something is to do, the more effort we put into something, the easier it is to remember. "People recall what they’ve read better when it’s printed in smaller, less legible type"^1. This idea that the struggle is what makes it memorable. The same goes for anything we do in life, like getting that dream job or climbing that mountain. It's the struggle, the hardship that becomes the memories. How often do we forget driving home but remember that marathon we ran?

Memories are made through the struggle, through hardship; it's how we are wired, it's a survival trait we have inherited from our ancestors. Sure, it would be nice to remember everything useful and even better to implement that knowledge, but that's not us, that's not human. It's the struggle, the hammer hitting steel, and the pressure and weight of the strike that mould us and our memories.

Footnotes
^1: Daniel Oppenheimer