Your last thought...

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I was an editor in broadcast TV for about 20 years. One thing I noticed was that when you cut from one shot to the next, your eye focuses on the last frame before that cut, and you remember it. It was really important to know, because if a woman is being interviewed, and you edit to something else, and she starts to stick out her tongue or close her eyes before you cut, you really notice that frame. If she's smiling and starts to frown, you remember that. But if you cut just before the frown starts, you remember the big beautiful smile.

 I used to edit a lot of music videos and documentaries, and sometimes it was really fun to try to make that last frame before the cut something memorable. 

I've realized that the same idea holds true for my thoughts. If I'm thinking about something, working on something, turning something over in my mind, and then I switch to thinking about something else, the thought that lingers is usually the last thought that I had before I "changed the subject." 

 What that means is, when I remember an interaction, I may remember it based only on my last thought. What if I had a lovely time with someone all day, except my final thought when I was leaving was "I shouldn't have said X"? In the back of my mind, instead of remembering the good stuff, I now have this lingering thought that I was a jerk. 

Now I'm working on consciously making that last thought a good one, because that's what I'll remember.

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