When you make a plan, the hope is that it turns out to be memorable. If, for example, you go on a vacation, you might plan a trip to a museum, or a zoo, or to go to a charming cafe. The hope is that you will make a memory that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.
However, in reality, you can’t manufacture memorable moments. If you think back to those times in your life that mean the most to you, those moments you recall are often unexpected. They might be good or they might be bad, but the times that stick with you are things you didn’t expect.
For example, for many people a wedding day is a memorable time in their lives. And while the wedding itself is planned and organized, the instances that often are most memorable are unplanned: something that went wrong, or something someone said to you, or a funny spontaneous moment.
But being unplanned is not enough to make something memorable. I might stub my toe walking around my home, but that isn’t a memorable event even though it was unexpected. It also needs to be unusual or noteworthy in some way.
So what are the elements that make an occurrence memorable? While you can’t plan spontaneity, are there things you can do to make a memory more likely to happen? Can you discern a pattern from examining your most significant memories?
Related questions: What is your favorite experience? Are memories more likely to be bad than good? What makes you the happiest? How many of your memories are false? What was the best time in your life?