Resolving Undesirable Outcomes – Part 2 – RAS
This happens frequently: I'm looking at my schedule, I don't have enough time between appointments to do what I want to do. On bad-hair days, I either moan distressedly or worry nervously about how I'm going to handle it. Either way, I'm feeling some form of fear, generated by images in my mind – pictures about how awful it's going to be, how hard it will be for me, how unprepared, how ultimately disasterous it's going to be. My Reticular Activating System (RAS), powered by the intensity of my feelings, begins searching for ways to realize my mental scenarios. And thus it goes.
On good hair days, I wish someone would postpone, so my schedule would ease up. AND, if no one does, I can actually do this, I'd just rather not have to." Then I figure out how I'm going to make my schedule work as it is. Often, someone postpones. It's like magic. In those cases, my reticular activating system, powered by my "can do" attitude (feelings of lightness or strength), begins searching for possibilities that match my mental pictures.
I'm beginning to catch on to the power of the RAS. It is positioned at the back of the brain and has various vital functions important for human cognition and survival. The part that most captures me is its ability to focus and sift through the massive amount of information coming through my senses, thereby allowing me to see the possibilities for achieving what I am picturing in my head.
Bottom line, something comes up that I don't like. Instead of focusing on what I don't like (thereby discarding as 'noise' any other more agreeable scenarios), I envision what I DO want ultimately, let the RAS figure out how to resolve it, as I go about doing what I can to resolve it on my own. Often, doors open that I couldn't have imagined before.
Example: when I got out of graduate school, I had very little proper work clothes. I pictured myself wearing stylish suits. I did not have the money to invest in that kind of clothing. I didn't get worried, I started to see what I could mix and match that might work. I got a call from a friend who had a friend who was a clothes-horse, and couldn't fit into her current wardrobe anymore. She decided to give all her clothes away. And there you have it. They were a perfect fit for me! (and posh to boot)
