Your Reticular Activating System: Is it set for success and happiness? Look for misery and you'll only see misery and misfortune...

 

 

By Joy Mizzoni
Team Support Specialist
ActionCOACH Spokane

Do you know about your reticular activating system (RAS)? “Setting Your RAS” is another little ActionCOACH idiom heard on a constant basis. 

Simply, your RAS decides what you pay attention to and what you ignore. Sure there is a more scientific explanation involving neurons, atoms, and gray matter…. but we will just ignore that for right now. 

How this applies to success is basic: what you think about is what you get. 

If all you think about is how miserable, unpleasant, untrustworthy most people are and how nothing ever goes your way, and you always hit every single stoplight, and nothing in in life is fair, and everyone has it better than you, and your job sucks, and your ass is fat, and all men are jerks, and you’re always broke, and your feet smell, and life just stinks and you hate the world and wish everyone would die, then guess what?

You will never notice the sweet smell of lilac floating in the summer air because your nose is pointed at your feet.

Okay, for those of you who still don’t know what the heck I’m talking about here, I’m going to use the standard car scenario which is far less colorful than my explanation but it should clear up a few things.  

Today you just purchased a brand new, shiny, red car. You thought to yourself, wow, this is a brand new model, unique and eye-catching! I don’t think I have even seen anyone driving one of these yet!  Your tires squeal as you fly off the dealer lot in your new ride. You’re driving, you’re smiling, you’re, wait, what’s that? That car over there, at that stop light, it looks, it looks just like this one? Oh well. That was probably the only one because you are sure you have NEVER seen this make and model of car around town. So you continue on your way, stereo up, and pull into the grocery store. What the heck is THAT? Not another car just like mine….

Now just because you never NOTICED that same care before doesn’t mean you never SAW it before. You just ignored it. You weren’t aware. Your RAS wasn’t set on “shiny red car.”  

If your RAS is set on opportunities, happiness, and good fortune you will NOTICE opportunities for happiness and good fortune that were always there…you just never SAW them before. 

How can you set your RAS for success?  If you’re like me, it won’t happen overnight. 

Now, you have to get to a point where you are AWARE of where your RAS is set. Unless you accept that self-awareness is critical; all my awesome advice is moot. Before you do anything, anything at all….and I mean anything…ANYTHING…you have to spend a few days or weeks becoming aware of what you think about, what you say to yourself, what bothers you, what holds you back. 

YOU MUST GET OFF AUTOMATIC PILOT! 

Even if it’s only for a few moments here and there. Read my last post (click here) about how small things matter. Small things matter. I’m not lying. Think of it this way, a few rain drops on a summer day are refreshing; a torrential downpour is not. Rain drops are rain drops. Get it? 

I would like to invite you to set your RAS for happiness with me.  Below is what I try to do consistently. I would like to say that means every day, but let’s just strive for “occasionally” right now.

Scenario 1: I don’t feel like getting out of bed and going to work because I am stressed and overwhelmed.

My first waking thoughts are an overwhelming mushroom cloud of errands, tasks, projects, empty gas tanks, children, work demands, laundry, dinner, daycare, dance recitals, bank accounts, gym workouts, car repairs, housework, meetings, deadlines; all exploding into my head at one time.  This happens as soon as the realization hits me that I MUST get out of bed right now. Hitting the snooze button one more time is not an option. 

Solution: “An Enemy Called Average” By John Mason is your best friend. 

Read it. Read it again. Read it some more. Then, read it again

ActionCOACH Spokane uses this book in their 90-day planning workshops and I review one chapter every Friday with my mentor Coach Jim Munro.

There is a reason why I was so passionate about starting this blog – because if I can take small steps towards changing my crappy attitude than anyone receptive to change can as well. 

When I find myself struggling to face the real world, I say to myself:

 “Never start your day in neutral.”

This get’s the covers off of my head. 

Then as soon as my feet touch the floor I say to myself: 

“Every morning when your feet hit the floor you should be thinking on the offensive, moving forward, taking control of your day and your life.”   

These are direct quotes from this book. 

What this does is sets your RAS to focus on what you CAN control today opposed to how chaotic things may seem first thing on a Monday morning. 

I start my day with my RAS set on the offensive; not the defensive. 

Scenario 2: The drive to work:  Having a positive attitude is really easy to maintain for like 20 minutes.

So in order to keep my RAS set to controlling my day instead of letting my day control me, I ensure that I listen to something positive on the way to work. I have a very long commute in the morning I try to find something on the radio that reinforces my mindset. This could be anything from public radio, a spiritual speaker, or even a bit of humor. For me, I listen to two stations, both spiritually based because the concepts they speak about (accountability, kindness, family, change, goals) are generally applicable to achieving success by making good choices. See, my RAS is set to look for positive reinforcement so I rarely run into fire, brimstone or damnation. 

I stay away from the news, financial reports; anything that is stressful, chaotic, negative or sad.

Finally, when I arrive at work I have already started the day setting my RAS towards thoughts and influences that are in direct line with achieving my goals.  

Some people just like being miserable, cranky and down on their luck. Others, I think, like me, just didn’t realize there was another way of thinking. Or perhaps my RAS has been set to “poor me” for so long that  a myriad of opportunities and talents where always there, I just failed to notice them.