It is difficult for one sometimes to remember any of this information, and they may find themselves unable to remember the basic points and move on with the matter they intended to learn.
But fortunately for us, there is a simple and effective exercise that can help us consolidate information. It is used by the best teachers in educational institutions, yet we often neglect it in our educational activities. This exercise is contemplation.
What is Contemplation?
Contemplation is based on considering the new information we receive and how it affects us. That is, thinking about thinking. Our brains analyze new information and start putting it in pre-prepared information paths.
To understand the principle metaphorically, imagine that a new piece of clothing arrives at the store. The employee evaluates this piece and then stores it on the appropriate shelf. Our brains store the new information under similar categories that our brains developed before.
Contemplation goes further, as it not only helps to regulate new information but it also shows us where it can be used in the future. We start by building ideas on how this information relates to and impacts us and where we can use it. That is, it is simply a meaningful fabrication that raises energy levels in our lives and consolidates information.
How to Apply the Principle of Contemplation to Consolidate and Recall Knowledge?
Contemplation can be easily applied to everyday life. This is through three simple steps:
1. Write down your thoughts and ideas related to the topic under study
We often learn a new idea, then go straight to another, which is normal considering the flood of information flowing daily into our lives. However, this rapid progress to the following information does not allow the brain the time needed to absorb and process what it has just learned; therefore, direct codification after receiving knowledge can help to preserve and consolidate it.
The emphasis is on writing down after receiving new information rather than during it. This is because the latter is no longer reflection, and although note-taking is effective, contemplation must take place after learning. The brain has the opportunity to give meaning to the information and gives you a moment of mindfulness that helps you improve your productivity.
Writing down your key points helps you retain your acquired knowledge. Your notes do not have to be detailed and in-depth. Simply discussing your perception of new information triggers long-term memory in your brain.
2. Discussing with others what you learned
Discussion of new ideas with others can benefit the preservation and validation of information because writing may seem serious and formal to each other in contrast to spontaneous conversations that can take place with a friend or business colleague, for example, during dinner. New ideas offer great material for building everyday conversations between people.
The practice of contemplation through spontaneous discussions is useful. This is for two good reasons. The first is that you are explaining a new idea to someone else. Then, it is repeated and absorbed for the second time, and this helps to establish the idea in your brain. The second is because conversations lead to more opinions, points of view, and successive clarifying questions. Each question leads to many questions during the discussion.
Circulating information or an idea will cause your brain to conduct a detailed analysis of its content, meaning, purpose, and what it represents for you, ultimately leading to fixing it in your brain.
3. Starting a series of follow-up questions
If you are innately curious, you can ask consecutive explanatory questions about the knowledge you have learned without having to share these questions with others, which increases their seriousness and relevance. Information can be pursued via simple Internet searches, other experiences, or future activities.
When you ask a question, your brain reviews in detail what you've learned, what the information means, why it matters, and what you haven't considered. As a result, tracking knowledge acquired in this way helps to regulate it, and curiosity, in turn, contributes to defining and tracing your passion.
Contemplation does not occur in an atmosphere of absurd questions and research. The question must be meaningful and thoughtful, and it must be very precise in the search for the answer. This way, your brain infers the meaning of what you learned, and the inevitable result will take hold in your mind.
In Conclusion
Contemplation is a simple exercise that can be applied in daily life in order to retain and consolidate the knowledge we learn. So, instead of feeling frustrated and stressed, use this exercise to raise your brain's efficiency in processing and analyzing information, hence improving your memory and your progress in achieving your goals.
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