R.A.S. - WHY GOAL SETTING WORKS Yesterday we mentioned wed - TopicsExpress



          

R.A.S. - WHY GOAL SETTING WORKS Yesterday we mentioned wed share some of the science behind goal setting and how successful people, in any field, achieve ongoing success, and how that is linked to a special part of your brain. Its a simple, yet fascinating topic to explore. So why does the simple process of writing out goals and visualizing their accomplishment work? Although there are many theories about this, one is related to what is called the “reticular activating system,” an integral part of every person’s brain and motivation process. The Reticular Activating System (RAS) is the attention centre in the brain. It is the key to “turning on the subconscious capabilities of our creative mind.” Many believe it to be the centre of motivation. The RAS determines what we pay attention to. In other words, it is the part of your brain where the world “outside” of you, and your “inside” world of thoughts and feelings come together and meet. Normally, our RAS “screens out” the mass of information that is all around us. There is simply too much information for us to pay attention to. Anything that is not important at the moment is “tuned-out.” For example, when we are in the middle of a noisy crowd such as might be found in an airport or at a sports game, we are not even conscious of the many different conversations going on all around us. However, if someone calls out our name or the name of a family member, we pay immediate attention and instantly “tune-in”. Our RAS says that these names are important, so we are always ready to hear them. Goal setting is the process of telling your RAS what is important to you, so that it lets in information that is important to the achievement of the particular goal. The goal comes first … Have you ever had the experience of setting a goal, but at the time you had no idea whatsoever how you were going to achieve it? People who understand the inner workings of the RAS do this all of the time. They set specific and time limited goals (often bearing the ridicule of family members and friends) even though they have little idea of how they are going to accomplish them. Then, sometimes weeks, months or even years later, they surprise everyone and fully achieve the very goal that they had set out to accomplish! How does this work? The answer lies in the “re-programming” of our RAS. When we set a goal, it tells our subconscious mind to be on the lookout for things, people, opportunities, or situations that will enable us to move toward our stated goal. It tells our RAS what to pay attention to. If you think back to times in the past when you experienced this process by setting a specific goal, you may have found that things began to happen (almost like magic) that carried you toward your goal. You may have unexpectedly run into people who could help you achieve your goal. You may have noticed resources that went previously unnoticed but all of a sudden, they were exactly what you needed to take you closer to your goal. Or, you may have been more open to try new things or learn new skills that enabled you to move forward. Then you see … The bottom line is this: The most important step in moving forward in any area of life is first, to simply set some realistic goals. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything nailed down as to how you are going to reach the goals. “The goal comes first, and then you see. You do not see first!” Because of the way we are all wired, goal setting triggers our internal (reticular) system to be on the lookout for the resources we need to achieve our goals. Once the goal is set, we begin immediately (through our creative subconscious mind,) to move toward its achievement. I’ll leave you with this simple exercise to have some fun with. Look at the next three words and recite each word out loud three times, theN mentally recite each word three times, and then again recite each word out loud three times. And as you recite each word three times, visualise each thing clearly in your mind: a red ball, a goat and a blue circle. RED BALL ... RED BALL ... RED BALL GOAT ... GOAT ... GOAT BLUE CIRCLE ... BLUE CIRCLE ... BLUE CIRCLE Now, because you have activated your RAS to seek one, two or all three of these things, it will be more ‘tuned in’ to see them more readily and acutely. Any one or all three of these things have always been there - youre not magically manifesting them - youre just now noticing them more because you have programmed your RAS to do so. And it’s that simple: you only have to input something three times with meaning into your RAS and it’s on the look out. Imagine how much more powerful it will be if you input things you want more often and with more meaning.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 22:58:01 +0000

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