The Power of Moments
Novelty is the source of Memory - Dan Heath.
I’m a fan of valuable, condensed information. Life moves fast and it gets faster the older we get because our responsibilities increase and naturally, the time we can dedicate to these responsibilities decreases. That’s why I’m a fan of podcasts and I stumbled upon a fantastic episode from one of my favorite podcasts.
Dan Heath is a New York Times best-selling author and a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s Case Center and the Founder of Change Academy (I’ve included the web address at the end of this article). Dan tackles the question:
“Why it is that certain brief moments in our lives have such disproportionate memorability and meaning?” And if so, can we create more?
Removing the obvious magnificent moments of our lives (the birth of our children, weddings, graduations, etc.) Dan and Matt dive into how we can intentionally create more powerful moments and how to make those moments “stick” to our memory. And once we understand this, we learn that moments can be designed.
Dan calls out Four Patterns or Ingredients that Make Up Memorable Moments:
1. Elevation – the moment will lift us above the every day.
2. Insight – in an instant we realize something about ourselves or our world.
3. Pride—priceless moments of pride (awards, thank you’s, trophies, etc.)
4. Connection—these moments can tie us on a deeper level to people. Even struggling together can bring people together.
Using these four elements, we can craft moments that we'd like to participate in, create, and remember. We can intentionally manufacture value.
A key takeaway is that often times with these big moments of our lives; we remember a significant nugget from that moment. We don’t remember the traffic on the way to the wedding or the concert; we remember a concentrated element of that experience- the best man’s toast or the father-daughter dance. We may not remember little league in its entirety, but we remember the home run. We may not remember “Mother’s Day” but we remember Mom at the restaurant spilling soup on her blouse or holding our child’s hand as they crossed the parking lot.
And that’s the magic dust – know the value of the moment and you’ll guarantee the memory.
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath & Dan Heath https://heathbrothers.com/the-power-of-moments/
Bodnar, M. (2018). This Is How You Create Life Changing Moments Starting Right Now with Dan Heath. [podcast] The Science of Success. Available at: http://www.successpodcast.com/show-notes/2018/6/6/this-is-how-you-create-life-changing-moments-starting-right-now-with-dan-heath [Accessed 19 Jun. 2018].
