What Makes People Happy, Part 5: Memories

Here's a happiness shopping list from CNN Money -- a set of items that people say make their lives happier (something money can only do to a point.) Here's the last one -- today we're talking about memories. The details from Money:

Memories of great experiences are powerful mood boosters. Go ahead and splurge on something that reminds you of your past, be it a T-shirt with a band's logo, a book you loved as a kid or a kitschy souvenir from your last great vacation.

There are two, regular ways I remind myself of great memories:

1. At the end of every year, my wife and I select our best 25-30 pictures from the previous year. I then put them in a framed photo collage, we label it with the year the pictures were taken, and we hang it in our hallway. (We've done this since 2000, so we have seven of them at this point.) I frequently stop by and look at them and simply smile. It's wonderful to see how the kids have grown and to remember the great times we've had as a family.

2. I have a mini-version of the pictures above on my desk that I look at every day. Why? Because it's part of my calendar -- one of those great, self-made, picture calendars I got from Costco. It's another great way to remember people and events important to me.

So what about you? How do you recall your fondest memories? 

Comments

[plonkee]

To be honest, I just remember them.

My memories are most strongly evoked by music and occasionally I will by a cd because some of the tracks remind me of some happy event, but I find it has a better effect when I use serendipity.

[Katy Raymond]

For the past 7 years, the easiest way for me to keep track of great memories is looking back through my own blog archives. The past two entries are about my only daughter's wedding (last Saturday!). Many are about my mother's hilarious experiences in assisted living these past five years, and will someday be assembled into a self-published book for my siblings and their families.

A truly personal blog is a fun and nearly automatic way to keep track of life's great moments! And, of course, a way to entertain readers in the process.

[christianPF]

It really seems like major events, challenges, breakthroughs, and vacations take up the majority of my memories from many years ago. It seems to me that creating memories that you can hang onto for the rest of your life is a good idea. I really believe that you can take any event (even mundane ones) and make it something special. We only live once, we might as well make it a life worth living.

[Pam]

Gee... I think this would be the time to mention custom designed scrapbook albums.

For many of my fondest memories I don't have photos, unfortunately (who brings a camera everywhere?). So when I am creating pages for my scrapbook about favorite things, I try to find memorabilia that reminds me of that event. For instance ... I went to a Harry Connick, Jr. concert last spring. Love that man! But I didn't have any photos of the concert. But I did have my ticket stubs, a CD jacket from the album I bought at the concert and my written memories. Put it together and now I can always look back and remember the amazing front row experience.

~Pam