What You Focus On Grows: A Simple Guide To Your Reticular Activating System (RAS)

The other day, I was having "one of those days." I'm sure you know those days I'm talking about where all the bad seems to pile on top of each other. One of the water pipes in the drywall had busted and as a result we had no water, then I was running late to take my daughter to an outing to meet her new co-op. There were a few other things that pointed to "one of those days" I can't quite recall. When I had gotten in the car, I realized I left something at home and on the drive there I grimaced at every red light and busy street.

Then as I drove through a green light, I remembered a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating System, or RAS for short. The RAS is essentially a gatekeeper of the mind. Every second, our brains are taking in an enormous amount of sensory information, far more than we could consciously pay attention to at once. The RAS plays an important role in alertness and attention, helping determine what information gets prioritized and brought into our awareness.

Think about a time when you learned a new word and suddenly started hearing it everywhere, or noticed a certain type of car for the first time and then began seeing it all over the streets. Even hearing your name called in a busy room is an example of how the brain prioritizes information that is meaningful to you.

That morning as I was hurrying through the house, an unconscious message went off that said, "Let's point out all the things going wrong." My attention was more focused on what wasn't happening in my favor and not what might be working out. But meanwhile, the green lights, the kind stranger, the thing that worked out perfectly barely registered. When we’re stressed, anxious, or expecting something to go wrong, the mind can become especially good at noticing that which supports that expectation.

Much of the time, our attention is operating automatically, influenced by our thoughts, emotions, expectations, past experiences, and beliefs. This goes far beyond simply having a bad day. The beliefs we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world around us can influence what we notice as we move through life. What we repeatedly bring our attention to can then reinforce those same beliefs, creating a cycle that begins to feel automatic.

This is one reason I find hypnosis so fascinating and powerful. Hypnosis gives us an opportunity to slow down the constant noise of the conscious mind and become more intentional about the thoughts, images, beliefs, and expectations we repeatedly give our attention to. Rather than allowing old patterns to continually direct our focus, we can begin practicing new ones. In doing so, it doesn’t mean pretending everything is positive or ignoring real life problems, it means becoming more conscious of what we are training ourselves to pay attention to.

Like a camera lens can shift focus to zoom in and out, it's very possible for us to train our brains to focus on our journeys. We start filtering in information to our RAS that we want to focus more on. Here is a helpful way to start training your RAS:

Upon awakening in the morning (or any time really), spend a few minutes thinking about your goals for the day or week or whenever. Ask yourself, "What would I like to accomplish? How would I want to feel? Where would I like my attention to go to?"

Visualize what you want to accomplish, perhaps write them down, then visualize how you want to act, feel, see and hear for the day.

Add in some gratitude for bonus points and see how your day goes! Its an act of intentional living that allows us to start reprogramming old habits, beliefs and perspectives.

Some people may want to invite more positivity into their lives. Some might want more peace or gratitude. Others may visualize large goals they want to accomplish and begin training their attention to notice the people, possibilities, and opportunities that support those goals. However you choose to work with it, make it meaningful to you.

Maybe we can't control the broken pipes, unexpected delays, the traffic, or every red light along the way. But what we can become more aware of is the filter through which we're experiencing them. The more we intentionally live our lives and shape our lenses, the more we can notice things that have been there all along. Try it out and see for yourself and remember, what you focus on grows!