Collecting Memories

By Steve Pavlina

Instead of thinking of life as a series of goals or accomplishments, I also like to think of life as a collection of memories. I ponder what kinds of memories I’d like to add to that collection as I age.

This helps me get past overly abstract goals and focus on the experiential nature of life. Sometimes achieving a goal is a great experience, but sometimes it can be a boring slog where only the end result matters. If we pay more attention to the experiences we’re accumulating and not just the achievements we’re ticking off, we can acquire better memories and feel more enjoyment from those memories.

I’ve been investing in this mindset a lot more during the past 10 years than I have in other decades of my life, and it’s made a noticeable difference in how I feel about the past. That last decade is filled with such delightful memories that I cherish. I contrast this with other periods of my life when I didn’t practice this mindset, and I realize that I allowed too many days to go by where I didn’t create enough beautiful memories.

Some of my favorite memories are of travel experiences. I have vivid memories of Paris, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Lucerne, Rome, and more. I recall an amazing 23-day road trip through the Pacific Northwest. And of course how could I forget the Las Vegas Zombie Run?

Some cherished memories are actually very simple and inexpensive. They were little decisions to add some extra flavor to my memory banks. I read several Mark Twain novels during the past few years, including Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Recalling some of the ridiculous events from those stories puts a smile on my face.

Last night I began reading Don Quixote, which is more than 400 years old. This is a book I’ve always wanted to read, and I just finally began reading it, partly because I want to acquire the memory of having read it. I want to add some intimate knowledge of this book to my mind. And I also want to experience the story. It’s about a man who decides to become a chivalrous knight and go on adventures in a world that cares little for chivalry.