RAS and the power of visualisation.
Here is why you should master visualisation.
Your brain has a system in it called the „Reticular activating system“. It has one job, FILTER. It is a system that allows some information through and blocks out other. The programmer of that system is you….and the people from your past. So if you constantly believe that you are unlovable, guess what? Your reticular activating system will go through the day looking for every single piece of evidence that confirms that negative believe. If you believe that you‘re not successful, looser, stupid, ugly or what ever might have been implanted in you, the Reticular activating system is literally going to be looking for evidence to confirm that believe all day long.
“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”
-Henry Ford
This is why we have things like „Confirmation bias“. That means your mind loves to read things that you agree with. Because reading things you agree with, confirms you filter.
Why do we have a Reticular Activating System (RAS)?
There is a really important reason. Imagine your schrolling the news feed of your Facebook page. Have you noticed how many words, photos, ads and whatnot goes in front of your eyes? If your brain took in everything at an equal value, your head would explode. So the RAS protects your brain by filtering information and only letting in stuff that it agrees with.So, that the scientific reason for why you got to get busy reprogramming that thing. By using visualisasion you can start the reprogramming process so your brain starts to spot opportunities. Your brain starts spotting evedence that things are working out. He starts to spot „coincidences“ so you can build momentum.
What happens is you train your brain to have different filter.
The brain doesn‘t know the difference between something that actually happened to you and imagined memory that you‘re creating. It only registers the emotions assosiated with the experience.
Scientific research have shown that it only takes 30 seconds a day, visualising to actually develop a skill.
How do you do this?
If your goal is to improve your self worth, you visualise what your life looks like and how you‘re going to feel about yourself when your self worth has improved.
There are two things you have to do. First is to close your eyes and have a very specific picture of how it looks like in your life when your self worth has improoved. You‘re. Going to see yourself speaking up at work, you’re going to see yourself talking more about your business, you’re going to see yourself leaving bad relationships. You’re going to see yourself defining boundaries, You’re going to see yourself going to the gym, You’re going to see yourself taking care of yourself.
Second step
Consciously think of the positive emotions that your going to feel. „I‘m going to feel happy“ proud, stand tall, be so grateful that I made this change.
Brand new Volvo
In 1999, two years after I lost my arms, I went to Sweden to have made for me prosthesis. While I was there I met a dude that was also missing his arms. But he had his own car, that he drove! Now, that had me intrigued so I asked if I could look at the car and how he operated it.
When I saw that he had a steering on the floor that he turned with his LEFT foot I was a bit baffled. How was I supposed to use my right foot for gas and breaks, while steering the bloody thing with my left foot. I was lucky if I could manage to chew a chewing gum and walk upright at the same time.
He allowed me to try the car, but like expected, I could hold it on the road for about 10 meters and then I almost drove us into a ditch.
But nevertheless I decided that I wanted a car like this. It would mean the world of difference for me to be at least independent getting myself from a to b.
Soon after I came back to Iceland I ordered a similar car. It was a shiny new Volvo S80 and it was shipped to the same garage as modified the Volvo for the other dude. I thought about the car, every day. How it would feel like, what I could do when finally get the freedom and HOW I WOULD OPERATE IT. I had talked to a driving instructor that would help me get used to this new way of driving, expecting it to take at least several months before I would master this.
When the day finally came to pick up my new car from the dealer shop, I got inside it and drove it home like I’d been doing it my whole life. I didn’t know it then but my Reticular Activating System had changed it’s filter while I visualised myself driving this car, and when the time came, my brain was sure he’s done this before.
