Focus… is something we are constantly in and out of throughout the day. With the Reticular Activating System (RAS) you may be able to harness this focus more sharply subconsciously to enable you to achieve your goals with more precision.

Seeing red?

The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a bundle of neurons located in the reticular formation in your brainstem. Have you ever thought of buying something, say a red car, and suddenly you’re seeing more red cars and they are everywhere? And then you can’t stop seeing red cars – how did you not notice there were so many red cars on the road before?!

Need to know basis

They’ve been there all along but only now has your Reticular Activating System brought this to your attention. This system controls the stimuli you receive and through its processes, motivates you to behave a certain way. You can’t process everything happening around you, so the RAS will filter what is necessary for you. Its job is to automate as much of your behaviour as possible so that you don’t actively have to think about it.

If you have a goal in mind and it’s programmed into your RAS, you will automatically be thinking about it and your actions will be geared towards achieving that goal. Your choices will automatically steer you towards what you need to achieve your goal. But how do you engage your RAS to achieve laser focus and connect to your deeper consciousness?

Be careful what you wish for!

The RAS doesn’t know good from bad. It’s like a robot. It only cares about automating and filtering the things that are important to you. For example, if you say “I hate exercise!” it will do everything it can to filter information through to prevent you from having a fitness routine and block out any positive outcomes you’ve had in the past. Conversely, if you say “I really love exercise!” the RAS will start bringing to your consciousness all the positive things that you experience from exercise.

Some people call this ‘the law of attraction’ or ‘manifesting’, which it technically is, but it’s not magic and it’s within your control.

Visualise to realise

So how can you harness this power? It takes work, but if you are persistent and dedicated, you will see a difference. A simple way is for you to VISUALISE. For some, this is easier said than done, so try these tips:

1. Think about exactly what you want. What goal you want to achieve, what situation you want to find yourself in, e.g. I want to buy a nice house.
2. Nail down what steps are actively going to get you there. It doesn’t have to be too detailed, just an overall vision, e.g. I need to earn more money but start a side hustle/get a better job.
3. Now create a mental movie where you see yourself taking those actions and reaching your ideal goal or situation. Make it as detailed as possible, being aware of the sounds, smells, visuals and physical things you will encounter. Once you have your movie, replay it as much as you can when – you wake up and you’re having your morning coffee or when you’re drifting off to sleep at night.

Our first stop is creating this vision board. It’s super exciting to create and you can add anything no matter how impossible it may seem. So go forth, create, manifest, visualise and achieve!