Why Making Memories In Life Is So Important

When you browse high-quality photo prints of happy memories, a strange thing happens… Viewing an image captured in the past triggers a psychological process that momentarily allows you to relive a brief occurrence in your life.

Good, and bad, memories tell the story of your life. They remind you of the choices you made, the paths you’ve taken, and the people you have loved and lost. They also enable you to share experiences with other people. Without memories, human existence would be devoid of character, passion and the experiences that shape our identity.

What Are Memories?

Memory is the process that involves the human senses, and recalls what has been learned through experiences, in order to retain the information for the purpose of guiding future action.

Because our senses play an integral part in memory making, they often trigger instant recall. Think about how you feel when you hear a song that dates back to your youth… Or your sense of smell picks up a waft of perfume in the air, and instantly transports you back in time… That’s the work of the powerful memory.

A photograph has the ability to retrieve the information that your mind acquired through your physical experiences in life, and that your brain archived for later use.

Preserving Memories Past To Present

Throughout generations, high-quality photo prints have been treasured as keepsakes, by people wishing to leave behind a legacy for family, and proof of their existence. Photo albums containing images captured during milestone events and random everyday experiences are highly prized possessions.

In our modern digital age, many people choose to share and store their memories in real-time, across multiple social media archives. Fragments of life, that in the past were celebrated on the pages of personalised photo albums, are now broadcast for everyone to see.

The preservation of memories is important to our mental health and wellbeing. Memories strengthen our sense of identity and purpose, and also help to bond our relationships with loved ones and other people. Taking snaps is a beneficial exercise, in terms of keeping experiences alive.

Displaying high-quality photo prints of happy memories in your space can have a positive impact on your emotions. A photo of a distant memory has the power to elevate your mood, and to inspire and motivate you.

How To Create Good Memories

As the architects of our memories, we are in charge of choosing how we feel at any given moment. We can control whether bad experiences of the past influence the present and the future. The more good memories that we are able to deposit in our memory bank, the greater the amount of happiness withdrawals we can access during our lifetime.

Taking regular trips down memory lane, courtesy of high-quality photo prints, puts a smile on your face and uplifts your heart.

To create good memories, we need to experience situations that trigger the senses. An emotionally charged event, like a wedding or birthday party, stimulates the area of the brain that makes a memory linger and ‘stick’. Photos of the event help to reinforce the message that the memory is associated with happiness, and is therefore worth banking.

The best memories usually involve other people. If you want to feel happier, spend time making memories with family, friends, lovers, acquaintances and strangers. Live in the moment, so that all of your senses are engaged, and take photos often.

Learn to be mindful of when you’re feeling happy, and accepting of the times when you’re feeling down. Browsing your favourite snaps of the past can help to shift a block in your emotions, if you’re not feeling great.

Cherish the people in your life, while they are still present and alive. Your photographic memories, of the happy times and experiences you’ve shared, are the legacy that will be carried on by future generations.

Seek out new experiences that create strong memories. Pay attention to what your eyes see, the sounds you hear and the smells in the atmosphere. Episodic memories (that trigger all of the senses) are much richer and more vivid, and help you to travel back in time to relive the moment.

Remind yourself of good memories by building memory anchors that form practical associations. When you’re enjoying a new experience, and creating a happy memory, give it a ‘name’. For instance, a day trip with your family could be mentally labelled as “the day that X, Y or Z happened”. You’ll be reminded of the good experience every time anyone mentions the word/s that you have chosen as your trigger.

Reminiscing often, by relaxing and browsing your photo albums, refreshes your happy memories and keeps them from fading. Nostalgia helps to maintain the memories you have stored in your happiness bank.

Treasure Your Favourite Photos

To ensure that you leave behind a lasting legacy for future generations of your family, it’s important to preserve your favourite photographs.

Select the best photos and display them in beautiful and luxurious photo albums. Arranging the images in a chronological order, in themed photo books, helps to tell the story of your life.

If you have favourite snaps stored on a device, don’t rely on storing images on memory cards. Use an external hard drive and back up photos on the Cloud. Burn your photos to CD and print to display them.

Enjoy sharing your favourite high-quality photo prints with loved ones, and making new happy memories in the process.

Read more interesting articles at News Route