A short YouTube clip (TJ Walker) advising that people 'program' their brains through self-talk. Walker uses the computer 'Control+F' analogy to argue that repeatedly telling yourself you are 'horrible with names' or 'clumsy' trains your brain to perform accordingly, and recommends adopting positive self-statements (e.g., 'I'm good at names') to improve memory and behavior.
Chapters
If you're sitting at a computer and you click Control F, you can type in any name, it's gonna find it on that page. It's pretty simple. Works pretty much every time. Why? Because it's programmed that way. Now, imagine you're at a cocktail party. You see a colleague, someone you perhaps used to work with. It's been a year since you've seen that person. You're thinking, oh, my gosh, I'm horrible with names. I'm horrible. What is that person's name? I can't remember this person's name. I'm horrible with names. Well, guess what? Your brain is doing exactly what you've programmed it to do. You're programming your brain to be horrible with names. If you keep telling yourself you're horrible with names, you're going to be horrible with names. Now, I realize your brain is not a hundred percent like a computer, but there are some similarities. If you constantly tell yourself I'm good at names, and then you actually listen to someone when they tell you your name, you will be substantially better at remembering names. Your brain's listening to you all the time. If you say you're horrible, you're clumsy, you're stupid, it will program your brain that way. Please follow the TJ Walker habit.