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Ever wonder how birds can travel thousands of miles to their nesting grounds without getting lost, or how the small-brained squirrel remembers the many places where it buried nuts for the winter - yet you constantly forget where you put the keys you were holding just a few minutes ago? Many people are unsatisfied with their memory skills. If you're one of them, don't give up hope, because you can improve your memory. Science has repeatedly proven that human brains have amazing powers to process and store information. The key to having the ultimate memory skills you need lies in how you train your brain. Just like muscles, the more we use our brain the stronger it gets. Here are four simple ways to get your memory in shape:

Be interested. Think about all the students who doze off in their history classes because they think that studying the past has no significance in their present life. Because of their lack of interest, they receive bad scores on their exams, simply because they can't remember the points the teacher discussed in class. One way to improve your memory is to develop an interest in the subject you're studying. For example, say that your goal is to be able to remember the names of all the people in your office. The best way to link the names to their faces, and to be able to recall those names when you meet the people, is to learn something about them. Take the time to have a short conversation with each person and use their name often during the conversation.

Pay attention. Memory failure is often the result of lack of attention. One way to overcome this is by taking notes. This will help you focus your attention on what is being said, or on what you are reading, and will serve as a reminder later.

Make sure you understand. Imagine that you are given an hour to look at a sentence written in Chinese characters. Afterwards, you're asked to write down the same sentence. What do you think your success rate would be? Unless you already speak and write Mandarin or Cantonese, you probably wouldn't be able to accurately reproduce much more than the first character or two. The reason for this is that we are more likely to forget things that we don't understand. Obviously, if you're preparing for an examination, be sure that you understand the concepts as well as the facts. Never hesitate to ask questions if there are points that are not clear to you. Don't be afraid to ask questions at work, either.

Use recitation and verbalization. Saying things out loud helps link them in your brain to memories. If you're studying a foreign language, the best way to learn vocabulary is to recite the words out loud, and then use the words frequently in conversation. If there's something that you need to remember, discuss it with friends, co-workers, or family. When you talk about things using your own words, you both your ability to understand the concepts and your ability to remember and recall them later.

While these four tips are good for everyday memory improvement, your progress will be even faster if you invest in a memory training softwareprogram like Ultimate Memory. This system is designed to improve your memory and your brain in the areas of text and word recall, memorization of facts and numbers, visual and spatial memory, and recognition of faces and places.