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D.: How am I going to remember all that???! Oh, all I have to do is reread this message, I guess. Ah, the self-fulfilling prophesy. Nothing beats planning to fail, I guess.
Me: Exactly. I try to be very aware of self-fulfilling prophesies. When someone says they have a "senior moment," I tell them that that reinforces the idea that your brain worsens as you grow older, when in fact forgetfulness happens at all ages. I prefer either "brain lapse" or, even better, "brain ****" (y'know, the word that rhymes with "art"), because it sounds like something anyone can do, and about as consequential. In other words, calling it a "senior moment" makes it something to worry about; calling it a, well, my second term makes it something to amuse you.
[Editor's note: I can add here, in my journal, that it's "Brain Fart," but I thought putting that in an office e-mail was pushing it...]
D.: I've always like "cognitive mishap," a term I first heard in a music class I was taking in college. It amused us all. It's simple, gets the point across, and is sufficiently erudite that it makes it somewhat of an oxymoron, in a peculiar sort of way...
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There could be other terms, too: "Mental hiccup," maybe? The point is, THEY HAPPEN. But they happen to everyone. Don't think you're feeble because of it.
You're welcome.
