Did you know your RAS can impact your level of success? Have you ever wondered why people end up in so many different circumstances in life? You have the wealthy, successful entrepreneurs, the people who are always in a rut, people who are always lucky, families living paycheck-to-paycheck.
Why do people end up being either consistently successful or in a state of constant despair — seeming never to resolve their issues? It’s all down to how people think — more specifically, how the nerve pathways in your brain perceive your reality. You may already be somewhat aware of this concept — how you think, directly affects your reality. But if you’re not, stick with me, as I’m going to reveal the secret to using your thoughts to change your reality.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the RAS, and how you can get yours in gears to begin creating the reality you desire.
What’s The RAS?
The RAS, also known as the Reticular Activating System, is a part of the brain responsible for how you perceive your reality. It’s located at the back of your head, in the brain stem.
Think of the RAS as a type of filter — it filters out all of the unnecessary information and hones in on the most important information you need at any given moment. Without it, your brain would be like your TV playing 1,000,000 different shows at once and expecting you to understand all of them.
The RAS also works to find information that confirms your perception of reality — if you think the world is fantastic, the RAS will attempt to focus on information that reinforces your beliefs.
One great example of this is if you’ve lost your house keys. Your brain forgets what you’re having for dinner tonight if you’ve bought your aunt a birthday card, or what you should wear to that party on Saturday. Instead, you’ll only be focused on where you last had your house keys. Some other examples of the RAS in action would be an eagle spotting it’s prey below and placing all of its concentration on the prey until they’ve caught it, or you always spotting Tesla cars after your friend has just told you they’re going to buy one.
How Does The RAS Affect My Reality?
The RAS plays a huge role in your reality, as it will make you focus on the things you think about the most.
This explains why some people always seem to be stuck in life — they only ever think about their shortcomings and never on the positives or potential opportunities. As they’re exclusively focused on their shortcomings, the RAS will find information that confirms the way they’re thinking. For example, if someone always thinks that they cannot lose weight, no matter what, the RAS will find information that confirms this, leading the person to carry out behaviors that also validates their weight-loss struggles.
Using Your RAS To Your Advantage
The information is clear — what you think about most will consistently appear in your reality, thanks to your RAS. So, with that in mind, does that mean if you change your thoughts, your reality will change? YES! Using your mind to create your reality may be a difficult concept to understand at first — a lot of manifestation and law of attraction talk can be tricky to digest. However, the RAS is the most logical way of explaining this phenomenon.
By only thinking about the life you want, your RAS will find information and experiences to confirm your line of thinking. If this concept is new to you, you should start small and experiment with different things. You can think of a type of car, a symbol, an animal, a song — whatever it is, focus on that one thing and allow your RAS to guide you to that very thing.
Once you’ve encountered the thing you’ve been focusing on, write it down and keep a record of subsequent experiences with this concept. This will help to boost your confidence dramatically and strengthen your internal locus of control.
Take Control Of Your Life
The RAS is the most logical way of explaining how your thoughts can have a direct impact on your reality. Learning to take control of how you think and what you focus on will have a massive impact on your life.
If you’re not content with your current reality or you wish to progress in a particular area of your life, don’t just sit back and focus on the negatives in your life. Start focusing only on the things you want in your life, hold those thoughts, and watch your RAS assist you in helping them come true.
We’d love to hear your experience with using your RAS to create the best life for you. Leave your experiences in the comments below to help others realize the importance of getting their RAS in gear!
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Written by Lewis James