Why do we so easily remember things we'd rather forget, but forget things we'd often hope to remember?

Question

Have you ever noticed that? It's been the bane of both my father's and my existence almost since birth. A related phenomenon is the simple observation that for many of us, we can more vividly recall certain memories from our childhood than we can recall memories from even just the previous day. Now what's up with -that-?

Answer 1

The things we want to forget are usually traumatic or unpleasant, but those vivid events seem to stick in our minds. The good memories, we tend to file away in our subconscious. They're there, ready to recall when we wish them, but they haven't made as big an imprint on our minds because we don't associate them with trauma. You would think it would be the other way around, but strangely, that's how it works.

Regarding your other question -- I think it has to do with normal aging patterns. We remember our childhood because our minds are so uncluttered at that time, that memories have a lot of room to store. As we get older, there is less room for remembering even simple things. When we're young, the whole world is interesting and exciting. As we age, the once colorful things become more ho-hum. I've often thought of the brain like a computer. The more memory you put into it, the more often it crashes. Think about it.....Great question!

Answer 2

Cause everything that u try to repeat or insist on will stick to ur mind so as ur insisting not to remember it again ur just stiking it.
But dont forget that everything u see, read, hear... are just written in ur mind. Thats why u can see them in dreams when ur asleep.