Deleting Your Memories Will Make You Happier
Apparently, my wife and I had a big fight last night. When I woke up this morning she barely talked to me. But I couldn’t remember why.
It was like my memory has been erased by a Neuralyzer from Men in Black. No hard feelings on my end. Like the fight never happened.
Perhaps you are now remembering an argument you had with your spouse or replaying a discussion you had with your boss. It’s not always easy to forget an incident that made you upset.
You probably wished too that your memory could be erased by a Neuralizer. Because, believe me, when sad memories are deleted, you feel much happier.
But if remembering sad moments hurt, why do we choose to rehash unhappy memories?
Why We Love Rehashing Memories
Rumination, the habit of repeatedly chewing sad experiences or conversations, is like getting stuck in the sand. You don’t make any progress. Your whole life gets stuck.
I’m not saying we rehash sad memories on purpose. I do that too. It took me time to realize that ruminating is an ineffective coping behavior. I started to practice how to delete sad memories. Forgetting a bad experience is truly liberating.
