How to internalize ideas

Many intellectuals spend a lot of time learning ideas, but how do you actually internalize them? I mean truly grok them, not merely memorize them. Here are some tactics I use that work quite well:

• Write about them (ahem). Writing and publishing what you learn helps you learn through multiple mechanisms. Firstly, it helps you clarify your thinking and can often even help you realize you don’t really understand in the first place. It’s like how writing notes helps you learn but on hyperdrive. Secondly, you publicly commit to the knowledge, making you more likely to use it. Thirdly, it will make it more likely that your friends use the concept, and if your friends are using it, it helps you remember it too. Lastly, teaching people is one of the best ways to learn. 
• If-then intentions. Also known as implementation intentions, it involves identifying a trigger which will prompt you to do a specific action. Usually this is done for habits like exercising and the like but can equally be applied to thoughts. For example, you could have a Starbucks trigger the action of counting your blessings, or have a Skype ringtone remind you to ask questions before explaining your own side. You can also use Habitica (a gamified task management system) to change thought patterns which I explain more in this other post. 
• Use memory tricks like acronyms. If you were a nerd in school, like myself, you might remember using memory techniques like making memory palace, using visualizations, and acronyms to remember things. You don’t have to reserve that for school. You can use it in your professional and personal life too. I do this all the time, such as for my systems to: make habits, feel better emotionally, and write more frequently.
• Spaced repetition. Not only can you put most things you want to internalize into a flashcard software that spaces the cards based on the best way to upload it into your long term memory (otherwise known as spaced repetition), you can do that in other ways. My favorites are to put the ideas into my google calendar so that it will send me a gmail reminder periodically (usually once every few months until it’s integrated). A friend of mine, Emerson Spartz, has set it up so that these repetitions happen on digital photo frames put in strategic places around the house which I definitely want to experiment with. 
• Environmental cues. A less high tech method than Emerson's is to put up sticky notes around the house, office, or on your computer at the beginning reminding you of various things. The drawback is that you cannot set up any sort of spaced repetition or automated cycling. Additionally, you can only use a few of these for a short period of time because if there’s too many of them or they are up for too long they’ll lose their power. 

This is hardly an exhaustive list, and there are innumerable other ways to incorporate ideas into your life. Please do let me know in the comments about any techniques that work for you! 

Other posts you might like:

• The general system to form any habit: SEEP
• How to write more and actually enjoy the process
• How to change your thought patterns
• How to always take your vitamins