Sales Strategy
How Your Bad Memory Can Be Good for You | January 17, 2018 (0 comments)
Miami, FL—Well this is something I am willing to look into! I really want to know how bad memory can help me and all my retail members--a mix of us older folks and our younger adults opening stores or building superstores. It is a mixed bag that just keeps on growing and working. So, I want to know how bad memory can be a good thing?
They say forgetting things may be your brain's way of optimizing information. I hope so! It's time for some of us to quit beating ourselves up over our Swiss cheese memory.
Memory loss and slowed down brain activity in both humans and animals is not only normal but it can help make us smarter. The goal of memory is not to transmit the most accurate information but to help us make intelligent decisions. First, we have to let go of things that are not important. This is my favorite part.
It is important for the brain to focus on stuff that’s going to help us make rewarding decisions in our retail world. Great news: when new brain cells form, they “overwrite” old memories and make them harder to access. If we exchange old memories for new ones, we are able to better adapt to new situations. Especially in the workplace it teaches us to let things go that are unimportant. For example, employees that do not get along. “Let it go” should be their philosophy. From an evolutionary standpoint, exchanging old memories for new ones can enable us to better adapt to new situations by not relying on old or outdated information.
The same holds true in a sales situation—if you let go of the sales you didn’t make, then you also let go of the fear of trying to sell that piece again. Think it over to learn what you can do better next time, but don’t dwell on it.
Here is how I feel about it all, personally: if you are trying the best you can to navigate your work, your life, and the world in general but your brain is constantly bringing in conflicting thoughts and memories, it makes it harder for you to make an informed decision. For us older retailers, forgetting specific details about past events while still remembering the big picture makes it easier for us to generalize previous experiences and better apply them to current situations. Do not get bogged down.
So, go ahead and feel better about your intellect the next time you watch “Jeopardy!” Or whatever that game show is called. --Andie