Having someone who helps us with anything that comes our way, and organizes everything to make our life easier! A perfect definition of a personal assistant right? Well, not all of us have had the luxury to live this dream, because not everyone had a personal assistant. What if I tell you that's not true?
Yes! You read it right. You have always had a personal assistant, in fact, it's helping you even now as you read this. It's just that you were never really introduced to it. So here goes – “Meet your personal assistant, Reticular Activating System (RAS).” Still confused? Alright! Let's make your meeting an in-depth one so you'll know how your assistant works, what their areas of expertise are, how you can make the best use of it, and so on…
What Is a Reticular Activating System?
The RAS is a network located in the brain stem, which acts as a filter for the vast amount of sensory information bombarding our brains at any given moment. It determines which stimuli are relevant and deserving of our conscious attention while filtering out the rest. It's like radar, constantly scanning our environment for signals that matter to us. By filtering out distractions and increasing our awareness of relevant information, it ensures that we focus on what matters most to us, enhancing our ability to process and respond to our environment effectively.
The RAS interacts closely with other brain regions involved in emotion processing and behavioural control.
Emotional Processing:
Influencing Emotional Responses: The RAS interacts closely with other brain regions involved in emotion processing, shaping how we respond to stimuli.
Determining Perception: It helps determine whether we perceive stimuli as threatening, rewarding, or neutral, influencing our emotional reactions.
Regulating Arousal: The RAS plays a role in regulating arousal levels, modulating our emotional states and responses to different situations.
Triggering Fight or Flight Response: It assists in deciding upon the fight or flight response, evaluating threats and activating appropriate physiological reactions.
Modulating Stress Response: By regulating emotional responses, the RAS helps modulate our stress levels, promoting adaptive coping mechanisms and resilience.
Behavioural Control:
Guiding Actions: The RAS influences our behavioural reactions by directing us towards actions that are in line with our goals and values.
Aligning with Goals: It helps us prioritize tasks and activities that move us closer to our objectives, guiding our decision-making process.
Enhancing Focus: By filtering out distractions, the RAS enhances our focus and concentration, allowing us to stay on track with our goals.
Facilitating Decision Making: It assists in decision-making by amplifying our awareness of opportunities that support our desired outcomes.
Promoting Consistency: The RAS helps maintain consistency in our behaviour by reinforcing patterns that lead to successful outcomes.
But the RAS is not just a passive gatekeeper; it also plays an active role in regulating our level of arousal and overall consciousness. It helps us stay awake and alert during the day while promoting relaxation and sleep at night. This regulation of our sleep-wake cycle is essential for maintaining optimal cognitive function and overall well-being.
The Connection Between RAS & Subconscious
The Reticular Activating System (RAS) isn't just a filter for what we see and hear; it's also like a messenger between our conscious and subconscious minds. It quietly passes along messages to our subconscious, which affects how we view ourselves and the world. It focuses on messages that match what we already believe or want, which influences how we think and behave without us even realizing it. These messages may include our strengths, capabilities, and desires, which subtly influence our beliefs and attitudes. Once these messages reach the subconscious, they can have a profound impact on our beliefs and perceptions and play a significant role in shaping our behaviour and decision-making.
Here's an example of it:
Imagine someone who holds a belief that they are not smart enough to succeed in their career. This limiting belief may have developed from past experiences, negative feedback, or comparisons with others. As a result, whenever opportunities for advancement arise, this individual may hesitate to take action or pursue new challenges. They may avoid applying for promotions or seeking out additional training because they fear failure or rejection. Furthermore, this limiting belief may lead to self-sabotaging behaviours, such as procrastination or perfectionism. The individual may put off important tasks or projects because they doubt their ability to succeed, or they may set impossibly high standards for themselves, leading to feelings of frustration and inadequacy. Over time, these self-limiting beliefs can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing the idea that they are not capable of achieving their goals. The individual may miss out on opportunities for growth and advancement, and their confidence and self-esteem may suffer as a result.
So, even though we might think we're making decisions with our conscious mind, it's really the RAS and our subconscious working together. Understanding this helps us see how important the RAS is in shaping our thoughts and actions, and how it can help us be our best selves.
Using Reticular Activating System (RAS) To Our Benefit
As you already know your personal assistant is connected to our subconscious mind, it plays a huge role in shaping how we think, feel & behave. Here's how you can use it to program your mind & transform your whole life:
Set Clear Goals: The first step in hacking our RAS is to define clear and specific goals. Our RAS acts as a filter, amplifying information that aligns with our objectives. By clearly defining what we want to achieve, we give our RAS a roadmap to follow.
Visualize Success: Visualizing success is a powerful way to program our RAS for achievement. When we vividly imagine ourselves reaching our goals, our RAS interprets these images as reality, making it more likely to notice opportunities and resources that support our vision.
Use Affirmations: Affirmations are positive statements that affirm our desired outcomes. By repeating affirmations consistently, we can reprogram our subconscious beliefs and prime our RAS to prioritize information that supports our goals.
Create Vision Boards: Vision boards are visual representations of our goals and aspirations. By surrounding ourselves with images and words that reflect our dreams, we keep our goals top of mind and send powerful signals to our RAS about what we want to manifest in our lives.
Practice Gratitude: Gratitude is a potent tool for hacking our RAS. When we focus on what we're grateful for, our RAS shifts its attention toward positive experiences and opportunities, leading to greater abundance and fulfilment.
Picture yourself as a budding entrepreneur with a dream of launching a new venture. You kickstart your journey by setting clear goals and creating a vision board filled with images of success. Every morning, you visualize yourself achieving your goals and repeat empowering affirmations to program your brain for success. Throughout the day, you stay open to opportunities that align with your vision, trusting that your RAS will guide you toward success. As you take inspired action, your RAS amplifies your focus on the resources and connections you need to bring your dream to life.
By using these techniques you can align your RAS with your goals and you create a powerful cycle of intention and manifestation. Step by step, your dreams become reality, proving that with the right mindset and focus, anything is possible!
Word Of Wisdom
"The only thing standing between you and your goal,
is the story you keep telling yourself as to why you can't achieve it."
- Jordan Belfort
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