Clearing the Mind’s Cache

Do you ever feel like your mind is slowing down? You used to be able to solve problems so quickly, now you don’t even know what the problems are. Is there a considerable lag between knowing you should do something, and actually being able to remember what it was?

Difficulty remembering and concentrating can be a sign of many things. Maybe you are getting old, or remembering and concentrating just aren’t that important to you. Or maybe, you mind’s cache is full.

Cache is a word used to describe a place to store things. People keep caches of water in the desert, and they keep caches of dessert at weight watchers meetings. In computer terminology, a cache stores temporary files to help the machine run faster. Parts of frequently visited websites are remembered, so the next time you visit it doesn’t take as long to load. The cache is a convenient part of modern computing. But like all things, too much convenience can be bad. Sometimes when the cache is too full, the machine slows down.

It is like writing sticky notes. A note here or there reminds you of things and speeds up workflow. A desk covered in little notes does not.

If the mind is like a computer, then maybe people have caches too. We have a lot of important things to remember, like birthdays and passwords and ID numbers. These are usually things we need to remember quickly.

But we also hold on to a lot of information that is not important, and does not need to be recalled as fast. You probably don’t need to know the names of every person you have ever met, so you can clear some of that data from your cache. We all worry about the future, but you don’t need to remember all the things you’ve worried about. The worry page is on a good server. It loads quickly whether you remember it or not.

It is probably best to clear you cache of anything that slows you down or causes stress. If something is always on your mind, like stress or sadness, and it wells to the surface at a moment’s notice, that means it is stuck in your cache. The reason those pages load so quickly is because you never really leave them.

But not everything in the cache is bad and should be gotten rid of. Job knowledge, the best routes from one place to another, and all of your personal preferences belong in the cache. You wouldn’t want to have to re-learn your job every day, or how to get there. You wouldn’t want to forget that you are afraid of aliens, and then sign up to go to a UFO convention.

But if you feel like your mind is laggy, not working like it should, then you are probably holding on to something you don’t really need. It can be beneficial to forget stuff. But be careful what you delete. We all use auto-fill sometimes, and it can be a shock when all those fields are suddenly blank.