“Reticular Activating System (RAS)”

I’ve recently learned about the “Reticular Activating System”.
In Japanese, it is “脳幹網様体賦活系（のうかんもうようたいふかつけい）”.
At first, I guessed maybe that it was related to the work of the brain, but I had never heard of it before, not even in Japanese 💧
To put it simply, it is a system in the brain that remembers necessary information from the large amount of information that enters the brain and excludes unnecessary information.

After all, a person receives 34GB of information a day, and after a week, if you liken your brain to a laptop computer, it would be overwhelmed with too much information. That’s where the “Reticular Activating System (RAS)” comes in.
RAS uses the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to instantly judge important information and exclude unnecessary information. Interestingly, about 99% of the information obtained is eliminated from the conscious mind.

However, the excluded information remains in the subconscious, and when it is used many times or feels important, it is upgraded by RAS as important information. For example, when I bought a new car, I started to notice others driving the same model of car as mine. This is because, with the purchase of this car, this model is now on the important list in my mind. Another example is, suppose you’re having a conversation with someone at a lively party. Even though it is noisy, you can hear someone call your name from across the room. Again, your mind knows your name is on the important list.

So how can you use “RAS” to your advantage?
Answer; When you have a goal you really want to achieve.
For example, if you can draw a clear goal in your consciousness (your imagination), you can pick up information related to the goal from the subconscious. One of the most important things is to write a clear goal by hand. Of course, you can type on a computer or smartphone, but studies have shown the handwriting gets the best result for your brain to remember what your goal is.

〈SMART〉Process and systems to assist in reaching your intended goal 👇

After setting a goal, the next step is to keep thinking about it again and again. Continue talking to family, friends, and colleagues about your intended goal. By imagining the achievement of the goal, again and again, the RAS will assist you in approaching success. Also, put a reminder of your goal everywhere, in the refrigerator, closet, bathroom, etc. to make it easier to visualize (imagine) the goal.

Positive habits, affirmations and mantras are also very important. Positive habits can help you achieve your goals by forcing RAS to work, be conscious of feeding your brain with positive words that will assist you in achieving your goal. Also, since RAS cannot judge whether it really happened or was imagined, having a clearer positive image assist the achievement of the goal.

And finally, the most important thing is to repeat the above-mentioned process over and over again!
Good Luck ☺

Click here for references 👇

Youtube; Self Help for Life (length 16.36 minutes)
Reticular Activating System and Goals | How to Use Your Unconscious Mind to Achieve your Goals