RAS:
What your conscious brain sees is NOT the same thing as what the nonconscious brain sees. Your conscious brain is aware of and processing about 2,000 bits of information EVERY SECOND! However, your nonconscious brain is processing over 400 BILLION bits of information EVERY SECOND!!!
In other words, for every bit of information you are aware of, there are about two hundred million bits that your brain processes behind the scene. So what determines which of the 400 billion pieces becomes the 2,000 of which we are aware?
That awesome job is the responsibility of the RAS (Reticular Activating System).
The RAS is a network of nerve pathways at the base of your brain and acts as a filter for all the sensory input your brain draws from your eternal world. Anything and everything that see, hear, feel taste, or smell passes through this network and relays a signal to the appropriate part of your brain for processing. It is always searching for those specific bits that best match information patterns already established in your brain. IF it’s important to you, the RAS sends a signal to your conscious brain to alert you that something important is going on. AND it does this 800 times faster than your conscious brain cells operate!
Here is the most important thing about the RAS...you can enter whatever search string you want it to look for. You can CONSCIOUSLY program a specific idea or goal into your RAS, and no matter whether you’re asleep or awake, thinking about it or not, the RAS will do its job and sift through the entire ocean of information swirling about you at all times to find precisely what you’ve told it to find!
When you create a clear, focused picture of what you want, this part of your brain kicks into high gear, and doesn’t stop unit it finds it.
IF your RAS is NOT programmed for what you really want, then no matter how diligently you pursue a goal, you’ll miss all the cues in your environment and overlook all the resources, connections, and other pieces of the puzzle that might help you realize your goal. The answer could literally be right under our nose, but you won’t see it!
IF you program it with what you DON’T want, then THAT is precisely what it will find and KEEP FINDING!
SO...how do you program your RAS with what you want? Simply by focusing on it, thereby creating a habit of thought around that thing you want.
Neuroplasticity:
We are making new brain cells and new neural connections all the time throughout the human life span. No matter what your age, your brain is perfectly capable of creating entirely new neural pathways. Every time you have a significantly new thought or experience, your brain is actually making new neural connections. Not only can you change your brain dramatically, but it is designed specifically for you to be able to do exactly that.
What your conscious brain sees is NOT the same thing as what the nonconscious brain sees. Your conscious brain is aware of and processing about 2,000 bits of information EVERY SECOND! However, your nonconscious brain is processing over 400 BILLION bits of information EVERY SECOND!!!
In other words, for every bit of information you are aware of, there are about two hundred million bits that your brain processes behind the scene. So what determines which of the 400 billion pieces becomes the 2,000 of which we are aware?
That awesome job is the responsibility of the RAS (Reticular Activating System).
The RAS is a network of nerve pathways at the base of your brain and acts as a filter for all the sensory input your brain draws from your eternal world. Anything and everything that see, hear, feel taste, or smell passes through this network and relays a signal to the appropriate part of your brain for processing. It is always searching for those specific bits that best match information patterns already established in your brain. IF it’s important to you, the RAS sends a signal to your conscious brain to alert you that something important is going on. AND it does this 800 times faster than your conscious brain cells operate!
Here is the most important thing about the RAS...you can enter whatever search string you want it to look for. You can CONSCIOUSLY program a specific idea or goal into your RAS, and no matter whether you’re asleep or awake, thinking about it or not, the RAS will do its job and sift through the entire ocean of information swirling about you at all times to find precisely what you’ve told it to find!
When you create a clear, focused picture of what you want, this part of your brain kicks into high gear, and doesn’t stop unit it finds it.
IF your RAS is NOT programmed for what you really want, then no matter how diligently you pursue a goal, you’ll miss all the cues in your environment and overlook all the resources, connections, and other pieces of the puzzle that might help you realize your goal. The answer could literally be right under our nose, but you won’t see it!
IF you program it with what you DON’T want, then THAT is precisely what it will find and KEEP FINDING!
SO...how do you program your RAS with what you want? Simply by focusing on it, thereby creating a habit of thought around that thing you want.
Neuroplasticity:
We are making new brain cells and new neural connections all the time throughout the human life span. No matter what your age, your brain is perfectly capable of creating entirely new neural pathways. Every time you have a significantly new thought or experience, your brain is actually making new neural connections. Not only can you change your brain dramatically, but it is designed specifically for you to be able to do exactly that.
But Wait...There’s MORE!
Psycho-Cybernetics:
According to the research of Dr. Maxwell Maltz, any change that we make in our lives—whether in our finances, health, spiritual connectedness, relationships or career—that takes us out or our comfort zone, sends a chemical signal to the rest of our nervous system. Our brain picks up that signal as doubt, fear, or anxiety, and automatically interprets that feeling as a DANGER signal, prompting us to make whatever adjustments necessary to return us to our previous state.
The fact is, risk and the sense of stretching oneself that goes with it are part and parcel of the entrepreneurial experience. In fact they are an integral part of ANY sort of genuine growth. The Psycho-Cybernetic alert signal does NOT literally mean “DANGER”, it simply means “Hey, you’re stepping out of the normal range and moving into uncharted waters, are you aware of this? Are you sure that is what you want to be doing?”
The Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism is an autopilot that will ALWAYS kick in and attempt to steer you back on whatever course it has programmed into its neural circuits.
The great flaw in all behavior modification programs is that they rely on conscious efforts, and the conscious brain is simply not very effective at modifying our habits. To have an impact at the level of cause, we need to address these habits where they live, in our nonconscious brain.
Even if you want to increase your income level tenfold, unless you impress that intention upon your nonconscious brain, the wish will remain nothing but a wish because you have a financial set point.
Before you can significantly increase your income, you need to recalibrate that financial set point, because if you don’t, every time you start taking any significant action that might result in your income substantially increasing, your Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism will kick in, flood your brain with epinephrine and cortisol, and cause you to jump back on your previous “familiar” course.
Remember: You Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism is doing exactly what it’s supposed to do: keep you feeling “safe”. And by the way, this has nothing to do with happiness. You could be miserable, and delivering an equally miserable performance with your life, but If THAT’S what you’ve established as “normal”, your Psycho-Cybernetic mechanism will obediently manage all of your nonconscious habits, modes of thought and action, EVERY mechanism, to keep you safely in THAT miserable place!
The key is to FEEL the fear, FEEL the doubt, know that there’s going to be uncertainty, and DO IT ANYWAY!!!
Successful entrepreneurs don’t have fewer chemical alerts than everyone else, they just interpret those alerts differently. They have learned how to recognize that feeling and use it to move forward instead of reacting protectively to it—that is, to interpret it as a sign that a breakthrough is in the offering rather than seeing it as a threat.
When you start having doubts or an edgy feeling of nervousness about your goals, pay attention—and take control. Ask yourself, “Is this really something that can hurt me, or is it part of my natural growth process as I achieve my goals?”
Anytime you learn something new there is going to be a point of resistance, a point of fear where you will feel discomfort. Here is what that means: YOU’RE GROWING!!!