A while back I wrote an article about the Reticular Activating System (RAS) and I want to expand on that because I feel that you need to understand how your brain processes information and how it can help you become better at what YOU do.

You were born with a Reticular Activating System, but you were never taught how to use it and benefit from what you were gifted at birth from God. I will do my best with this article to explain how you can harness the power of your RAS to transform your reality.

What Is the Reticular Activating System?

The Reticular Activating System is a network of neurons in the brainstem that acts as a filter for the 4 billion bits of information your senses take in every second. Think of it as your personal gatekeeper, deciding what gets your attention and what gets ignored.

Every day, you’re bombarded with sights, sounds, conversations, ads, opportunities, and distractions. Your brain simply can’t process it all.

Your RAS prioritizes what’s “important” based on what you consciously or subconsciously believe matters. Here is what you must always remember: your RAS doesn’t decide on its own. You program it with your thoughts, beliefs, goals, and intentions.

Have you ever noticed that the moment you decide you want something specific, like a red sports car, you suddenly see it everywhere? Those cars were always there. What changed wasn’t the outside world, but the inner filter in your brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS).

The RAS is like finding your superpower. Once you learn how to consciously direct it, you can reprogram your mind to focus on success, results, and growth in both life and business.

The RAS in Action: The “Car Effect” Example

Let me share a personal story. For a while, I had my heart set on a Red Mercedes C-Class. It wasn’t just about owning a car, it was about what that car represented to me: elegance, success, and flow.

One day, I went to test drive it. The moment I sat behind the wheel, something shifted. As soon as I started driving, I felt as if I was gliding. The car wasn’t just moving—it felt like I was floating as though life itself was saying, “Yes, this is yours.”

From that moment the Red Mercedes C-Class was locked into my awareness. My Reticular Activating System switched on. Suddenly, Red Mercedes cars were everywhere. Did the world change overnight? No. What changed was my mind’s filter.

The visualization and the emotional connection from that test drive programmed my RAS. It filtered out distractions and highlighted the opportunities until I didn’t just buy the car—I custom made it. I chose the exact interior I wanted, the wheel design, and all the details that made it uniquely mine.

Those of you who know me also know that I drove my Red Mercedes for ten years until I had a major car accident that totaled it. I was devastated when I lost that car.

That’s how powerful the RAS is. Once you experience something with emotion and intention, your brain goes to work to align your reality with it.

Now imagine using that same process not just for a car, but for your business, your financial growth, your health, and your purpose. When you give your RAS a target, attach powerful emotion to it, and reinforce it consistently, your mind begins scanning for opportunities to make it real.

You don’t get what you want, you get what you focus on.

“Where Focus Goes Energy Flows.” — Tony Robbins

If you focus on problems, your RAS will highlight more problems.
If you focus on opportunities, your RAS will bring more opportunities.
If you focus on fear or doubt, your RAS will “prove” you’re right by showing risks and failures.

This is why some people feel “lucky,” and others feel “stuck.” Action is required for success, but equally important is utilizing the tools you already possess—your RAS.

How to Reprogram Your RAS

Your RAS doesn’t respond to vague wishes. It looks for clarity, repetition, and emotion. Think of it like giving directions to a GPS: the clearer and more specific the destination, the better it guides you.

1. Set Crystal-Clear Goals
Vague goals like “I want to be successful” confuse your RAS. Specific goals give it a target to lock onto.
Action: Write your goals down daily, in present tense, with strong emotion:
“I attract 5 new aligned clients with ease and joy.”

2. Use Visualization
Your RAS can’t tell the difference between a vividly imagined scenario and reality. Visualization trains your RAS to look for matches in the real world.
Action: Spend 5 minutes daily visualizing your desired outcome. See it, feel it, hear it as if it’s already happening. If it’s a tangible object, interact with it—like I did with the test drive.

3. Affirmations With Emotion
Affirmations are more powerful when tied to emotion.
Action: Instead of saying, “I am successful,” say, “I am the kind of leader who inspires clients, attracts abundance, and grows my business with passion.” Say it with conviction.

4. Control Your Inputs
What you consume—news, conversations, social media, friends—feeds your RAS. Garbage in, garbage out.
Action: Surround yourself with success stories, mentors, podcasts, and environments that reinforce your goals.

The Science of Focus and Energy

Your RAS is directly connected to your prefrontal cortex (decision making) and limbic system (emotions). This means what you focus on shapes your decisions and your emotional state.

For example, if you constantly tell yourself business is hard, your RAS will highlight obstacles. Your prefrontal cortex will then make decisions based on that “evidence,” and your emotions will reinforce stress.

Flip the script: focus on growth, possibility, and solutions. Your RAS will highlight supportive evidence, your decisions will align with opportunity, and your emotions will fuel motivation.

This is why high achievers like Tony Robbins seem unstoppable—they’ve trained their RAS to look for what serves their vision.

The question is: are you letting it focus on distractions, or are you programming it for success?

Remember my red Mercedes story: those cars were always there. I just didn’t notice them until I decided they mattered. The same is true for your goals. The opportunities, clients, solutions, and breakthroughs are already around you—you just need to activate your RAS to see them.

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Elena Petrescu
Certified Business Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Body Language Expert & Numerologist

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