In my classes, I teach the skill of being mindful of your surroundings, and how to remember better.

One thing that we all have in common is the fact that our memory dysfunction when we are stressed out. When we worry and harbor fears, it becomes much more difficult for us to remember things.

For me, it comes to the point where I struggle to find simple things around the house, like my car keys, my mobile phone, or my passport. It’s like my brain just shuts off. And the more stressed out I am, the longer it takes me to find the thing I’m looking for.

My best advice to this problem is to keep all these items (such as car keys, house keys, mobile phone, and passport) in a specific known place. For instance, keep your keys inside the drawer in the hallway, and place your passport in your night stand drawer. Then you always know where they are, thus eliminating the need to run around frantically when you don’t have the time.

There is a great story that one of my clients, call him Jeff, shared at a seminar.

It was a beautiful Saturday morning when he went to the store to buy bread for breakfast. He lived so close to the store that he usually walked, but this particular time he chose to take his car.

He parked outside the store and went in to buy the bread. As he came out, he followed his old habit and started walking home!

When he arrived home, he got into a conversation with his tenant outside and they started chatting about various things. At one point, the tenant inquired about the whereabouts of Jeff’s car.

Jeff fell right into the trap of fear and stress, and at that moment he could not remember where his car was. So they both came to the conclusion that his car had been stolen!

All doubt was cleared when the tenant recalled that he heard some suspicious noises the night before. So Jeff took action right away and called the police. He reported the stolen vehicle and went inside the house. Frustrated and angry, he plopped down on the sofa.

But as he started to calm down and relax, it all came back to him. He slowly remembered. His car was still at the store, exactly where he had parked it minutes ago! Embarrassed, he called the police and canceled the investigation.

Oh, the incredible things we get up to when we are stressed out – reporting stolen cars, looking for our mobile phone while we are talking on it, looking for our glasses when they are sitting on our foreheads… It becomes ridiculous!

Slow down! Take three deep breaths. Affirm this to yourself, “I am relaxed. I am present here and now.”

And then, remember to do this often!