The Purpose of Memory Is to Prepare for the Future
The Purpose of Memory Is to Prepare for the Future
It is our destiny to transform chaos into order. If the past has not been ordered, the chaos it still constitutes haunts us. There is information—vital information—resting in the memories that affect us negatively. It is as if part of the personality is still lying latent, out in the world, making itself manifest only in emotional disruption. What is traumatic but remains inexplicable indicates that the map of the world that guides our navigation is insufficient in some vital manner. It is necessary to understand the negative well enough so that it can be circumvented as we move into the future if we do not wish to remain tormented by the past.
If you have a memory that is more than 18 months old that still gives you a negative emotional reaction, then you have not fully articulated that memory. Your brain is always trying to figure out where you stand in the world, of how many things have worked out compared to what hasn't, and how much you have mastered things such that they respond in the way that you expect them to. If past negative memories have not been articulated, where you learn from the past, then you carry around the memory like a weight. Your brain responds to that as stress, releasing more cortisol and physiologically affecting you negatively.
You need to do the requisite work to process and analyze past memories, especially if they are negative experiences. You need to create a map of all of the things that have not worked out, and how to master those things. Analyze those memories causally to understand the root causes, especially if you had some control or responsibility over it. This will reduce uncertainty in your life and free you from the grasp of negative memories. Writing about uncertain things in the past, present, or future, will decrease the psychophysiological load on you, making you less stressed, improving your mental and physical health.
How much of my old map do I have to let crumble and burn—with all the pain dying tissue produces—before I can change enough to take my full range of experience into account? Do I have the faith to step beyond what should and must die and let my new and wiser personality emerge? To some great degree, we are our assumptions. They structure the world for us. When basic axioms of faith are challenged (“People are basically good”), the foundation shakes and the walls crumble. We have every reason to avoid facing the bitter truth. But making what is—and what was—clear and fully comprehended can only protect us. If you are suffering from memories that will not stop tormenting you, there is possibility—possibility that could be your very salvation—waiting there to be discovered.
References
877 - Jordan Peterson - The Joe Rogan Experience
Beyond Order by Jordan Peterson