Goal Setting
by Damien Clarke
-
The Proven Science of Why Goal Setting
Works
How many times have you suddenly, seemingly
from out of nowhere, found yourself saying, "Yes, now
that makes sense! Why didn't I realize that before?"
Insights seem to come at the strangest times for some of
us. Have you ever tried to remember the name of
someone, or a particular song, or a place and for the
life of you at that very moment you just cannot remember
it? Now what happens later in the day or usually
for me at 2am the next day? You guessed it, the
answer you had been looking for just pops into your
head. Bang, there it is and you weren’t even
consciously thinking about it.
Personally, I believe our insights come
when we have given our minds time to think, without
forcing answers on the conscious level. Many a time
I have given myself a problem to solve, by passing it to
my subconscious mind, and letting go of the conscious
control due to frustration. Given enough time, the
answers come through, complete with all the details and
always at a time when I least expect
it.
This is the power of your Reticular
Activating System (RAS) a known human
science.
Here’s how it works. The
Reticular Activating System or RAS for
short is the part of the brain believed to be the centre
of awareness in human beings. It is situated at the
core of the brain stem and extends from the spinal
cord. Its function is to filter or screen the
thousands of messages of information you take in daily
and determine what information is important to you and
what gets through to your subconscious.
This is why goal setting
works!
When you set a goal, your RAS goes to work
and starts to filter information which you have now
determined is important to you. A good example of
how the RAS works is when you decide to buy a new
car. You have read the new car brochure, looked on
the web for more details and pictures of the car and even
know what colour you would like. What happens over
the next few days or even weeks? You suddenly see
this model car everywhere! This is how your RAS
works - you don’t consciously think of the car, your RAS
is on the look out for any information it can gather
about it. This isn't a theory this is a proven
scientific fact!
This is why there is great value and proven
science in goal setting. Quality time needs to be
taken out for consciously setting your goals. Those few
moments of quiet time allow us to drain away the stress
of the day, and also focus in on what is truly important
in our lives. You set the goal and your RAS will
creatively invent the how!
I encourage you to give yourself time to
think, time to focus your thoughts on what you truly want
in your life. Let go of the conscious demands of the day,
and wait for those insights that will surely
come.
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