Creating Crystal Clear Vision
Jan 23, 2024
Does Your Vision Serve or Sabotage?
As the late great Wayne Dyer brilliantly shared, what you focus on expands. The human brain is a marvel of nature, a complex network of neurons orchestrating our every thought, feeling, and action. Nestled within this intricate web is a lesser-known but critically important component: the Reticular Activating System (RAS).
Located in the brainstem, the RAS controls functions such as attention, arousal, and sleep-wake transitions. In the realm of psychology and personal development, however, it plays a pivotal role in focus and attention.
Acting as a filter for the immense amount of information your brain processes, the RAS highlights what's relevant to you based on your values, needs, and goals. Yet, this powerful tool can sometimes turn into an obstacle, holding us back from achieving our full potential. Here's how:
1. The Power of Negative Focus
Imagine the RAS as a laser-focused spotlight, illuminating what you consistently concentrate on. If your thoughts are often steeped in negativity or fear, your RAS will highlight experiences and evidence that confirm these fears, a phenomenon known as confirmation bias.
2. The Trap of Familiarity
Secondly, the RAS craves familiarity. It's wired to recognize patterns and keep you comfortably ensconced in your comfort zone. When faced with new experiences or challenges—vital catalysts for personal growth—your RAS might steer you back towards familiar territory, preventing you from venturing out and acquiring new skills or perspectives.
3. The Illusion of Limited Resources
Finally, the RAS can create an illusion of scarcity by focusing on what you lack rather than what you possess or could potentially gain. If you believe resources are limited—be it time, money, or opportunities—your RAS will continue to reinforce this belief, making it difficult to see beyond these perceived limitations.
With conscious effort, you can train your RAS to focus on positives, embrace unfamiliar experiences, and recognize abundance, thereby turning this potential obstacle into a powerful tool for personal growth.
How do we go about harnessing the power of the RAS?
Here's a two-step method:
Step 1: Master Your Mindset
The first step is to take control of your thoughts. Your RAS, like a faithful servant, diligently highlights what you focus on most. Visualize your success in vivid detail. Dwell on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Be mindful of your internal dialogue and replace negative self-talk with affirmations of your worth and ability. This effectively programs your RAS to spotlight opportunities for success and growth.
Step 2: Embrace New Experiences
Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Your RAS, being a creature of habit, naturally gravitates towards the familiar. While this can provide a sense of security, it can also stifle your growth. Counteract this by actively seeking out new experiences and challenges.
My friend, while the RAS may present challenges in our journey of personal growth, understanding its mechanisms allows us to turn these potential obstacles into stepping stones. By mastering our mindset and embracing new experiences, we can harness the power of our RAS, making it an ally in our pursuit of personal development. Remember, the key to change lies not in battling our brain's natural tendencies, but in learning to work with them.
