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I would say you do not have a memory problem, but rather the typical laziness of your average human being. As a cure, try reading more (difficult books), and lay off the television and computer. Do 'brain exercises.' Listen to people for a change.

There are very serious memory problems that can result from disease or injury. For example, the musician Clive Wearing suffers from anterograde amnesia due to the herpes virus attacking his brain. Because of this, he has difficulty remember just a couple seconds in the past, although over a longer period, repeated actions are partially encoded in his long term memory.

The ability to store and retrieve memories can also be affected by injury, such as concussions.

I suspect this is simply the way you are. I have a 14 year old son who often still needs one direction at a time. If he is given an entire set, he forgets them. That's just the way it is. It is the type of memory that you have.

I also think we all forget things easily. Has your Mom every said something like "Remind me to buy bread before we leave" and neither one of you remembers? That's normal. We get busy doing other things and we forget.

One thing you might try to improve your memory. When you hear something that you want to remember, try repeating it to yourself as soon as you hear it.

You may simply be rebelling against something or someone.

You may also have a self esteem problem. You are emphasizing in your question not the importance of your forgetfulness to yourself but to others. ("I forget what you told me to do." "This usually get me in trouble.")

I dunno. I blew out my short term memory back in the whatevers by doing too much whatchamacallit. What were you talking about again?