Our brains process millions of bits of data every day. To keep our brain from becoming overwhelmed and overloaded, we have a filter located in our reticular activating system (RAS). Think of this filter as place where information comes into the brain, and then is neatly filed into different boxes, so we can actually make sense of it all.
How is this filter created? Well, we actually create the guidelines for it ourselves. We do this by telling our brains what is important to us, how we feel about ourselves, what we believe in, how we process past experiences, what our fears are, etc. Think of it as a personalized lens we use in how we view the world.
Here’s how our RAS works. When you buy a new car, all of a sudden when you’re driving down the road, you notice just how many people have the same kind of car, right? Those cars were always there. The information is just being filtered through to you now because it is relevant. Before your RAS didn’t deem it relevant because well…it wasn’t yet.
The RAS is incredibly powerful because it determines what information filters into your mind consciously, and how you perceive that information.
What we believe, both consciously and subconsciously, deeply influences our RAS. Say something happened to you where you felt like you weren’t good enough and that really impacted how you see yourself. Now the RAS will filter new experiences through the same lens and seek out information or “evidence” to push through the filter that validates and confirms what you believe about yourself – that you aren’t good enough. This is both fascinating and scary. It is based on belief and not fact.
But here’s the flipside. If our beliefs can create our filter in which we see the world, then we can determine the parameters of that filter. We can decide what we focus on and what we believe. This idea is basically the science behind the Law of Attraction.
It works like this. If you have a negative outlook on life and believe people are going to screw you over, your RAS has been programmed to look for the data that supports that belief and filter it through, so it can validate and confirm those beliefs. It is confirmation bias.
Likewise, if you look at the world with optimism and that there are plenty of opportunities, your RAS has been programmed to seek out information and data that supports those beliefs. So, you will actually have more opportunities because you see them.
Tony Robbins has often said, “Whatever you hold in your mind on a consistent basis is exactly what you will experience in your life.” What you focus on consistently, you create. What you believe consistently, you create.
Mindset truly is everything. That is why once you believe anything, signs are everywhere. Our brains seek out that data and information to support the belief.
What lens do you see the world through? How can you start programming your filter to work for you, rather than against you?
