Ever hear that story about the young boy who comes to his master/grandfather/other significant mentor and says that he feels like he has two Tigers within him, fighting, and he doesn’t know which one will win?

The wise older mentor says, “That’s easy – the one you feed.”

 

Turns out, Grandpa had a solid grasp of brain science. 

Because each of us has a bundle of neurons called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) snaking around in our brain that performs a handful of tasks for us, including highlighting what’s important to pay attention to.

Specifically, the RAS searches for confirmation of whatever you’re focused on.

In other words, it feeds back to you, what you have fed it.

Have you ever talked with a friend about a new book or car or show, and suddenly you see and hear about that thing everywhere?

Now granted, that might be partly due to algorithms, but even those can’t control billboards and conversations you hear in passing – not yet anyway.

So when you’re suddenly seeing blue Volkswagen Beetles at every stoplight, that’s your RAS at work.

And it’s a good reason why people set intentions. And write down goals. And schedule strategic actions.

Because when you set an intention, you’re giving that RAS a target. And that voracious little bundle of nerve fibers goes to work finding data that, essentially, confirms your bias*.

Feed that RAS a negative bias, and it jumps into Retriever mode, proudly bringing you all the most awful options it can find.

Think you’ll never be able to start your business in this economy? The RAS has three articles and a podcast on just that topic to show you. Tell yourself that nothing you do makes a difference in your weight (or health, or luck with the opposite sex, or test scores …) and the RAS can provide you with audio, video, and personal testimony confirmation!

BUT. Your brain is a lot bigger then just the RAS, and you can use that power for good.

When you set a specific intention, you’re setting the RAS on a quest for positive data. And it will start digging that up.

It’s one reason that writing down goals and reviewing them regularly is helpful. It’s also why putting positive affirmations on your bathroom mirror or in your phone case or on your wallpaper, can help.

Simply asking yourself, how can I accomplish this goal? Or what if this works? Can be enough to prime the RAS and start it focusing on stories, opportunities, data, of goals just like yours being achieved by people just like you.

The RAS doesn’t necessarily change your world, and harnessing it’s obsessive talents doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a lot of work to get you to the positive outcome you’re working toward.

But it does open up your view.

Instead of consistently bringing you little daily indicators that ‘Oh no, it’s all going to fall apart,’ your RAS starts bringing you little hits of hope. And when you’ve got a lot of work to do, a little hit of hope can be the push that keeps you moving in the right direction.

 

* (This is a HUGE oversimplification of how the RAS works. Because this isn’t a neuroscience lecture. So, please research the RAS if you want to be a real expert on that.)