What the Heck is an RAS and Do We All Have One??

There is a very old, yet very sophisticated system we all have in our brains that helps us to navigate our everyday lives safely and sanely without overloading our senses.  It blocks out almost everything we see and connects us with the things that we are most interested in.  The reason it does this is because if we took in everything we saw, our brains would be overwhelmed with stimuli and we would not be able to function.  Our minds would shut down from over-stimulation.

Introducing the Reticular Activating System

This system is not completely automated, however, and we can program it to notice things that we want to concentrate on.  This amazing system is called the Reticular Activating System.  Without getting overly technical, the RAS is a network of neurons located in your brain that help with behavior.  There is naturally much more to the explanation, but for our purposes, we are only interested in what it can do and how this helps us.

What exactly does it do?  As mentioned, it actually blocks out most of the things we see and gives our brains enough information to function without overloading us.

The other more interesting purpose it has is to connect us with the things we are interested in by letting us see them more.

The best way to understand this is with the car example.  Have you ever noticed that when you buy a new car, you begin to see that exact model everywhere?  It seems that half of the vehicles on the road are that car AFTER you purchase it. 

It is the same with a new job.  When you begin to work for a company, all of the sudden their logo and advertisements seem to show up everywhere! 

What is happening?  Half of the car buying public did not suddenly buy the same car as you.  Your new company’s logo and ads did not just spring up everywhere just as you were hired.

The reason you see those things is because of your RAS.  Before you owned your car or worked for your company, those things were there, but your brain did not register them because there are so many cars and logos out there that you see every day.  You could not possibly take it all in, so your brain selectively observes things that it thinks you need to function. Once you became interested in those thing, your RAS made sure you saw them.

So, what can we do with our RAS and why does it matter?  Once we realize our RAS will focus on the things we focus on, we can use it as a powerful success tool.

Using the RAS

Successful people use the RAS to attract the people and resources they want to achieve their goals.  They review their goals constantly and as a result, anything that will help them with that goal is highlighted by the RAS.  They begin to see more things that are directly related to the things they think about most.

If your goal is to eat healthier, and you think about that goal daily, you will begin to see healthier food choices in the grocery store and in restaurants.  You will notice healthier recipes online and hear when others are talking about them.

If your goal is to grow your business, and you think about that goal daily, you will begin to see more opportunities to make sales and you will meet more potential clients.  All by thinking about your business goals.

Again, the things you are noticing more were always there, but by concentrating on your goals and what you want, you direct your Reticular Activating System to look for them and find them for you.

So, how do we use the RAS?  First, we need to decide what we want our attention to be on.  Then we need to think about that subject as much as we can.  Once, we do that, opportunities and information on that subject will seemingly jump out at us as we go about our day.  More and more of what we see, hear and experience will be about our subject.  Then we need to decide how we are going to use that information or idea to advance our goal.

Try concentrating on your most important goals today and see how the world will open with new ideas and opportunities for you.