Posts Tagged ‘reticular’

Sometimes, we tend to be a little hard on ourselves, and we think there has been no improvement when there actually has been. Our beliefs become strong habits. We need to be gentle on any shortcomings and continue to mould our beliefs so that they support us over time. At the very least, after trying some of the techniques in this chapter you would be more aware of your disempowering beliefs so that you can dispute them more easily next time. Many of the beliefs we most need to change have been part of our thinking for decades, so it would be unrealistic to think that they could disappear overnight. If we are prepared to put in the effort, however, even deeply held beliefs can be changed with regular practice and persistence.

Within our brains is a small area called the reticular activating system. It allows us to recognise things that are important to us, so that we can spot opportunities when they arise. For example, when you buy a new car it may suddenly feel as though that make and model is very popular. In actual fact, your reticular activating system highlights certain features out of the mass of sensory information you receive. If you repeatedly work on changing your beliefs about yourself, the same part of your brain will start to collect evidence for your new empowering beliefs. The trick is: work out what you want to believe, do whatever you can to create that belief, and your brain will do the rest!