Too Much Thinking

Written by Jen Friday, 16 January 2009 12:54

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"There IS such a thing as too much thinking," is a phrase I now know to be true. My grandmother passed this strange wisdom to my mother, who passed it to me. I not only say it to my own children at times (who take it out of context to suit them), but yesterday I actually derailed my own overactive mind with this phrase. Perhaps "not thinking" more often could improve my memory.

Wandering through the pharmacy while I waited for a prescription to be filled, I was thinking of upcoming deadlines: a story for a local magazine, a proposal for a potential client, room-mother tasks overdue...Oh, and since it's exam week for my sons, I've been thinking about all of the things I've forgotten myself since high school, like the history of the Chinese dynasties and the immediate effects of Lincoln's presidency on the Union. Ok, maybe I wasn't thinking about that part too much.

Then I got sidetracked wondering how long it would take my family to use a jumbo box of Cascade dishwasher detergent. Right beside me was a woman doing the same thing, or at least I like to think I'm not the only one contemplating such mysteries. She immediately recognized me and greeted me cheerfully by name. I recognized her, too. Sorta kinda.

I knew her face, I knew that I knew her well and I knew that I liked her. That's where it ended. I drew in my breath and tried to return her enthusiastic greeting, minus the name. And I felt like an idiot.

We did the small talk thing, "how is your family" and all that. I'm getting very good at asking such safe and unobtrusive questions.

After she walked away, I tried to shake off my forgetfulness. Literally. There I was in the vitamin aisle shaking my head like a wet dog after a bath. Maybe the rocks in my brain will fall out of my ears if I do this frequently. Maybe if I can just stop my racing mind for a moment....

Eureka!

By the time I checked out I recalled her name, how I knew her and that we had worked together on a major project only a few years ago. I made sure to say goodbye using her name-twice-just to make myself feel better.

Today, I received an email invitation to a program featuring the owner of a memory training company. (Remember the Candid Camera show? I'm living it.)

This superhuman guy was a finalist in the 2008 USA Memory Championship. He remembered the names of 99 people in less than 15 minutes, recalled the exact order of more than 100 single digits in less than five minutes, and remembered the order of a shuffled deck of playing cards within three and a half minutes. And I can't remember where I left my pen.

Here is the really shocking part, however: He didn't even WIN the championship! Tell me, what did the winner do?

Since I wasn't feeling pathetic enough, the invitation to my 25th high school reunion arrived. I am barely 25 so this is clearly an error.

Then again, maybe I forgot. I've been busy thinking, you know.