The Attraction Zone

The 5 Points to RAS Activation

Let's continue with the Reticular Activating System and it's amazing abilities to help us achieve our goals and desires.

We will cover 5 points that if activated will ignite the powers of the Reticular Activating System (from here also referred to interchangeably as RAS). These points will not be discussed in detail, if you wish to study them further you may do so and references and further study sources will be given at the end of this post. The RAS is only one of the tools at our disposal to maximize the resources and potential available to us.

Goals

One of the first and most important triggers for the Reticular Activating System are goals. The dictionary describes a goal as ' the result or achievement toward which effort is directed'

Goals give the RAS a target to shoot for. As Brian Tracy says 'when you are absolutely clear about your goal, you do not even have to know where it is or how to achieve it' and that 'your goal will start to move unerringly toward you'. 2

One of the first things we are going to do this week in our great journey to make this year the best year of our lives is to set three clear goals. Why three goals? It's not a magic number but only as a guide. I think one goal is not enough as most of us have more than one thing we wish to accomplish. I think any more than three goals is too much and will dissipate our attention and energies. Have you had any goals or desires about something but they never got accomplished?

Do you have things that you have carried from one year to the next, hoping that this year it will finally be fulfilled. How many times do we make a new year resolution about some thing that we wish to see completed that year but it just seems to end up carried over to the following year and the year after that. This year we want to see great success and fulfillment of our most desired and cherished aspirations.

Let's devote this week to refining and clarifying the three most important and significant goals you want to accomplish this year. We want to come to the end of this year and look back with satisfaction and pride at completing our most cherished longings and desires.

Make It Specific

Make sure that your goals are clear and specific. You want them to be so specific that when you arrive at 31 December you will be in no doubt whether you have achieved them or not. Make it so clear so that 'you should be able to visualize what it looks like when you’ve accomplished the outcome.' 3

Do you want to clear your debt, buy a new home or car, start a new job or career, move to a new city? Whatever it is spend some time thinking about your goals and what it is exactly you want to accomplish. I use the word accomplish, but I don't want it to imply hard work and stress toward achieving this outcome.

All the tools, strategies and means will be given to us along the journey because we will be relying on our whole being to achieve these goals. For now, we just want to activate one of these tools and resources, being the Reticular Activating System. This is like putting the rocket on the launching pad. Once the rocket is launched, it will be guided to it's final destination and target.

Write It Down

After spending time thinking about our three goals we are going to write them down. You have probably read or heard about the Harvard graduate study on goals. The graduates were asked if they had set down clear written goals for their future and made plans to accomplish them. Only 3 percent had written goals and plans and 13 percent had goals but not in writing. The remaining 84 percent had no goals at all. The crux of the study that should inspire us is that the 3 percent of the graduates who had clear written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent of graduates combined.

One important thing to remember about the Reticular Activating System is that it is a goal seeking mechanism and that it will guide us unerringly to our goal or target, whether that goal is set objectively and consciously, or by default. We want to use this marvelous goal seeking mechanism to achieve our deepest and most important desires. We don't want results by default.

Desire

You have probably heard or read about the red sports car that is most commonly used as an example of RAS in action. If you buy a red sports car (or any car for that matter) then what happens is that you see that type of car everywhere. At the traffic lights, in the car park or on the freeway. Were those cars on the road before? Yes, but you didn't notice them. They weren't important to you at that time. Now that you own one, it's personal.

It's the same if you decide that you would like to fly and stay in Hawaii on a holiday. Every time you walk inside a shopping center or walk past a travel agent you seem to be struck by posters and photos of Hawaii and the latest travel offers that are available to Hawaii. You may have walked past those places many times before but you didn't notice them until now. Why? Because you didn't plan or decide to travel to Hawaii before. Now it's important and now it's personal.

Why is it that as soon as we buy a new or different car or decide to go on a special holiday that we seem to notice similar cars or posters, photos and brochures of that new holiday that we are planning. Why aren't we noticing all the other hundreds of things that are on our minds or that we are thinking about? Because those other things don't hold our interest. They are not our priority at the moment. They don't excite us as much as that new car we just bought or that vacation we are planning on taking.

Get excited about your three goals.

Develop a burning desire for them.

Give them your highest priority.

This is the year we make our long held dreams come true. If one of your goals is to go on a dream holiday, then it probably will not be very hard for you to get excited and passionate. Whatever your goals, get excited about them, they must be important for you to pick them and not all the others that may have crossed your mind. That's why it's important this week and the weeks ahead to spend some time and pick your three goals that will excite and inspire you. Then watch the Reticular Activating System do it's magic.

Attention

This then brings us to our next point. This is where you are attentive to the signs and triggers that RAS brings to your attention. Above we saw the example of posters, brochures and latest offers for that special holiday we decide to take or are planning to take. Your RAS will bring things to your focus throughout your day, just be alert and attentive to them. And as you feel prompted act on the information, clues and data that are magnified for your consideration.

Again, as in the above example, if you walked past a travel agent and saw posters or brochures inside then you would walk inside and grab some to take home with you to look over more closely. Or ideally, you would walk inside the shop and talk with a consultant to get more in depth information and data about your trip. This would make it more real and legitimate for you. Then you would really be getting excited because you are actually taking inspired steps towards the realization of your goal.

This is the year to make our dreams and goals come true. This is the perfect time to start. Over the next few weeks we are going to explore and experience the many facets of our being. We will bring our whole being into this great adventure. We will not be relying just on our smarts and past experience but we will be calling upon all the tools. resources, intuition, powers and energies at our disposal.

Get excited. Get passionate. Choose your three goals carefully and then decide that nothing will stop you from attaining them. We will walk this journey together. Remember that I have chosen my three goals too. I want to see my goals achieved as well. This is the year to succeed. This is the year to soar.