Your brain has amazing capabilities, and setting and focusing on goals is a powerful way to harness its massive energy and power. There is a network of nerves in the brain that control the state of awareness and attention called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). This system functions as a filter or doorway to accept and reject the overwhelming stimuli that we all encounter when we are awake.
A person can actively set this ‘filter’ by choosing to think about and focus on certain thoughts, or it will be set by the surrounding environment. One of the most familiar examples is when a person buys a new car. It seems that when you have that new car that many cars just like it suddenly appears everywhere you go! They were really there all the time you just noticed them now. Why is that? It is because you have set your ‘RAS’ to look for that make, color, and style of car.
When we set our RAS, we set the direction for our behavior. This is why goal setting is an effective way to direct your life in a desired direction. When you set a goal, and keep it ‘top of mind’, then your mind is constantly looking for ways to bring that desired outcome to pass.
As you start each day, I challenge you to take responsibility for setting your RAS. Do you really want the day to be all about the weather, or the latest news? Place thoughts in your mind based on what you would like to become, and then watch it come to pass. We truly do become what we think about.
