The Power of Forgetting by Mike Byster Page B

to do with it. This will indeed entail honoring your brain’s inherent habit loops, which involve cues, routines, and rewards. At first you might not see how my exercises have direct connections to developing a more agile, nimble brain, but all of them reinforce the pattern recognition that lies at the center of streamlining your brain’s operations. Even the ability to forget is itself a habit. You’ll need to train your brain to rapidly decipher between valuable details and mere junk—or just temporary information—so you can keep your mind moving swiftly through incoming data while at the same time minimizing the amount of mental energy expended.

SEEING PATTERNS EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK
    One of the best starting points for greasing your mind to find patterns in virtually every facet of life is to just consider the patterns in the world of language. I love to invent or identify patterns in my life using letters. I’ll be driving down the street and looking for objects or other visuals whose names are long and don’t have a repeat letter. Example: playground. Or I’ll try to find things in passing that have double letters: Observing a man on a corner wearing glasses, I’ll say to myself,
Guy with glasses
(double
g
’s and, as a bonus, double
s
’s!). I know, it’s a weird habit to have. But it really gets my mind into pattern awareness like you wouldn’t believe. Suddenly, I can find myself coming up with some wildly fun trivia, such as:
    •   “Stewardesses” is the longest word you can type using your left hand only.
    • “Typewriter” is the longest common word that can be typed using only the top keys on a keyboard. (How cool is that?)
    •   “Strengths” is the longest one-syllable word and also the longest word that has only one vowel. (“Screeched” is just as long but has three vowels.)
    •   “Sequoia” is the shortest word that possesses all five vowels.
    •   “Uncopyrightable” is the longest word that does not repeat a letter.
    •   “Facetious” is one of only a few words that not only use all the vowels but also use them in the order they appear in the alphabet
(a-e-i-o-u)
.
    •   “Four” is the only number that has the same number of letters (four) as its number value.
    •   “Forty” is the only number whose letters appear in alphabetical order.
    On the surface, it may not seem that these admittedly arbitrary facts are rooted in patterns. But they are. By letting my mind think in terms of patterns, I managed to discover these strange oddities and, while doing so, work my brain in peculiar ways that brought my focus and attention to a much higher level. (Granted, others have probably found these fun facts, too.)
    I recommend that you try it sometime—force your brain to seek patterns in things that don’t seem to follow any pattern. Try to learn something without being taught. If you need a place to begin, look no further than your favorite Web sites and search for patterns in their design. Are company logos placed in similar spots? Do they advertise in roughly the same area? Why do you think this is the case?

    You can learn a lot by studying patterns. Making a habit of recognizing patterns can be a game changer in the real world, because not only does the practice cultivate deep levels of concentration, but it can unleash more creativity, improve your logical thinking, and encourage you to think outside the box, see things differently, and perhaps find some solutions that work better than others.
    Moreover, you’ll bring fresh perspectives to conversations, you’ll notice characteristics in other people that can enhance your connections to and relationships with them, and you’ll be able to pay attention for longer periods of time when you most need to do that.
    In fact, being able to find patterns can ultimately help you collect the information you need to make good decisions, leverage your assets, and pave a pathway with fewer detours and