Goal Setting and Attitude

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By Jim_BoB52


RAS

The Reticular Activation System is located here in the brain
The Reticular Activation System is located here in the brain

Change your Attitude

Goal Setting and Attitude

The human brain is composed of many systems, one of which is called the Reticular Activation System (RAS). Its purpose is to filter external data and present it to the brain for processing. The filtering process is criterion based (goal focused) and eliminates the overflow of information in which we are bombarded. Interestingly these filters can be set and reset, resulting in attending to data/information of ones own choosing.

There are hundreds of thousands of events occurring around us every second and minute of every day. Most of these events we do not pay attention to. This extraneous information is deleted as it enters the conscious/unconsciousness and only the pre-approved items become the focus to which the brain attends and behavioral actions are taken

For example, most mothers and fathers prior to having babies are not too concerned with noises that occur in the house at night. After all, the noises typically involve neighbors, street sounds, creeking sounds as the house cools off after a hot summer day. But the minute a new baby enters the house their attention is sharply focused on the baby. Any noise emitted from the child typically gets immediate attention from one of both parents.

So -- “What happened to the parents?” What changed that mom and dad now hear the child even in their sleep?

Was it the mere appearance of the new baby that caused this brain change? Maybe, but it is far more likely that these changes were occurring during the previous 9 months, Both parents had thousands of discussion re: what they were going to do when the baby was born, how the child would be brought up etc. etc. The parents have now literally re-programmed their brain. This new program includes turning up the attention of their consciousness to include anything occurring around and or emitted by the new baby.



Goal Setting

In a similar fashion setting the RAS in motion requires the individual to write down those items/goals that they wish to attend to, thus re-directing their attention/focus. Specifically, one needs to compose an ideal situation of what it is they desire.

So what does this the RAS have to do with goal setting. In part the setting of goals is a reprogramming of the brain and a reprogramming of what you are attending to. To accomplish a goal you have to acquire and apply new kinds of behavior that when repeated frequently will become a habit.

You are causing your brain to begin to attend to events that are in line with the stated goal. If you couple this attention with feeling and emotions the focus becomes even more acute.

The following exercise is an excellent application of how this can be accomplished. Obviously, once we engage in this exercise and do it repeatedly we are actually reprogramming our brain to attend to another set of criteria

Exercise:

You are looking for a new job. What are the elements of the job which you can develop into a goal?

Write down everything you can think of that you would like in your new job..

First make a list of your Goals related to your job

Second define the Outcome of attaining the goal.

  1. Goal: Senior Computer Engineer
  2. Outcome: Company with excellent resources and dollars to spend in product development.
  3. Goal: Programming in multiple languages.
  4. Outcome: Latest software apps and equipment for testing.
  5. Goal:to have co-workers who are knowledgeable and cooperative and willing to have a new team player.
  6. Outcome:Thus producing a cohesive work environment
  7. Goal: A boss who is willing to hear new ways of solving old problems.
  8. Outcome: Provides me with a great sense of significance. My contributions are worthwhile and advance the company as well as my personal goals.

This material should be read/consumed at least 2 times daily for a period of time. I suggest 30 days. The repetitive reading will begin to refocus ones attention to the desired criteria. It is critical that you are specific in what you want to do also use use wording the causes you to emote when reviewing the various criteria. Stand up and review it, review it out loud, review it and inject passion into what it is you want. The purpose behind the review is to paint into your subconscious the picture of what you are trying to do be or attain. As you go through the process of review you will see in short order that you are seeing/hearing/feeling a new set of experience, most of which are likely related to your stated objective.

Key words- Reticular Activation System, phenomenology, field and ground, attention. Goals, goal setting, goal setting plan.

Training site: http://competentnetworkmkt.squarespace.com/


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