Seriously Losing The Plot

Have you found them yet

 

Probably, can't remember....

 

Found what?

 

Oh yes, this does sound familiar. To avoid forgetting things when I'm about to leave the house for work I do a little "Bavarian Folk Dance" where I pat my pockets in turn to make sure I have my pass on its lanyard round my neck, car keys, house keys, desk keys, cash, wallet, phone. Hang on, no phone (always in the same pocket every day), damn where is my phone.... Similar hunt ensued and thankfully I found it shortly after - in my other hand! Not my best of days. BC you have my sympathies.

 

When you get up and walk to another room and by the time you get there can't remember why you left the other room!!!!!

 

My glasses hide for hours sometimes.... usually on the top of my head! Doh!

 

I've developed a rather worrying trait. When looking for lost items, I search all the usual places I might have left something. After drawing a blank I search exactly the same places again thinking that it must be there. Not content with a double search and still not having found said item, I have been known to look 3 times. Stupid or what ???

 

I do that, too. Then my wife immediately finds said item in the place that I looked first ..... second ..... and third time!

Sad but true.

 

When I'm searching for something I've lost, I usually find something I was looking for last week, and not the item I was looking for at the time, I'm getting confused now.

 

Yep. One afternoon I was driving home from work talking with my mom on the phone. I didn't have blue tooth at the time so my phone was at my ear. (I know, I know...that was before I started riding. I don't talk and drive anymore!) Anyway, when I pulled into my driveway, I paused long enough for my mom to ask me if something was wrong. I told her I couldn't find my cell phone anywhere. She said, "Aren't you talking to me on it?" Um, yes.

 

You are not alone, Johnjo.

 

There's a scientifically-documented psychological explanation for this phenomenon we've many of us (er, maybe all?) have experienced. So, hey, you can "blame" this phenomenon and not your own memory. The psychological principal / explanation is called the "orienting response". Here's a quote from Robert Cialdini in his book, Pre-suasion, that uses the doorway memory loss experience as a common example of the orienting response:

"Walking through the doorways causes you to forget because the abrupt change in your physical surroundings redirects your attention to the new setting--and consequently from your purpose, which disrupts your memory to it. I like this finding because it offers a less personally worrisome account of my own forgetfulness. I get to say to myself, 'Don't worry, Cialdini, it wasn't you; it was that damned doorway'."

I've found this explanation for my own memory loss helpful, too. No charge for today's psychology consultation. Professional courtesy.

 

I was looking for something in the garage just the other day, and I knew I had put it in one of those "safe" places...could I find it...No!...and now I can't even remember what it was that I was looking for.

So something I currently don't know I've got, is somewhere in the garage and I don't know where. Guess I can stop worrying about it, cos I don't know I've got it whatever it was

 

When I've put something in a "safe" place as you call it, MadMrB, and then can't find it, Mr. Sandi refers to that as me putting it someplace "clever". Yeah, so clever I have no earthly idea where it now is!

 

Why is it that you can't lose the things you would be better off losing

 

I'd like to to lose parts of my memory, that would be good.

 

Just remember it is a ‘senior’ moment not a ‘senile’ moment. Wear them like a badge - with pride but discreetly

 

I suppose it’s something that us younger forum members can look forward too as we get older

 

I think you’ve just had one!