MSS #032 How to increase the odds of exceeding your objectives.

MSS #032: How to increase the odds of exceeding your objectives.

MSS #032: MSS 032 How to increase the odds of exceeding your objectives.

19 August, 2023

Read time: 2.6 minutes

In a hurry? Cut straight to the 2 tools read from heading Let’s delve a bit deeper into this - reduced read time 1.2 minutes

A key part of our ancient brain helps us focus, target and achieve what we place our attention on.

What we think about, have emotions about and see images of equates to what we place our attention on.

If you put your attention on what you want to achieve, you will harness your brains capabilities to assist.

WARNING: if you fixate about problems, what might go wrong, your fears and concerns, your brain assumes this is what you want to achieve. Most likely the origins of the phrase “be careful what you wish for”.

This week learn how this works and what to place your attention on.

Ready to go for it? Right, lets crack on then.

 Where is your attention going?

It’s easy to fixate on problems if you do, you will find more of them.

🎯We get more of what we focus on!

Why?

🧠We have a large cluster of cells at the base of our brains called the Reticular Activating System (RAS), which helps us focus.

Four of our senses (smell goes straight to the Hippocampus) wire straight into the RAS. The amount of information coming in through our senses is immense, in fact overwhelming. The RAS acts as a filter to only let through the information we think is “relevant”. Relevance is determined my what we place our attention on.

If you think about a car you want to buy, the RAS takes this as an instruction to find examples of this car with friends, adverts, seeing it in car parks etc. You start being far more aware of this make and model.

The RAS also helps find past memories of what you are placing your attention on and helps you achieve what you want by finding and presenting opportunities to make it happen.

🧠Where you place your attention / thoughts =

RAS “instruction” to notice more of the same.

🧠By focusing your thoughts on,

❌missed targets.

❌how big the challenge is.

❌a meeting that did not go well.

❌performance pressure from others.

You guessed it –

• this becomes your reality

• and you get more of the same!

🧠You effectively tell your brain (via your RAS) bring me more of the same

OR

Notice how I can do what I focussed my attention / thoughts on.

Visually it’s the difference between picturing you putting the goal in the back of the net or worrying about missing! The image you give your mind, is the one it will act on!

Once you have the image of what you WANT to do in mind, add some emotion to it. This is the “language” of the two older parts of our brains, evolutionary speaking.

Then make this part of your routine.

Review daily or weekly….

✅consistency

✅lessons learnt

✅progress made

AND

✅celebrate success

✅ note one improvement

Let’s delve a bit deeper into this

✅progress made

• keep a running list of what has been achieved so far.

• so your RAS “looks” for more opportunities.

Keeping a diary of progress made, demonstrates the cumulative effects of your efforts.

It proves to you, on difficult days, how far you have come and how much more you will achieve.

✅consistency –

• consistency always wins, so measure if you have followed your process daily, make it a habit

Steady, consistent progress builds to great results. Do not be impressed by others with seemingly big breakthroughs, they may well be following a boom and bust approach which over time delivers less results.

A simple way to acknowledge consistency is to have a diary, mark off each day with a tick you followed your key processes for the day. The processes that you know when followed relentlessly will bring you closer to your goal.

✅celebrate success

• take a moment to recognise achievement, it’s too easy to pass it by – helps you achieve more success.

Keep a notebook and write down at the end of the day your successes. This does two things.

1. Overrides our brains default of noticing negatives (perceived danger) faster and for longer than positives.

2. Give your RAS evidence of what to look for more of. Acts as a point of focus.

It also acts as a motivator on difficult days.

✅review lessons learnt

• learn from feedback, issues that arose and put an action in place to capitalise

Continuous small improvements are easily to accept and act upon and build into significant improvements over time. Might not be as exciting as a big step forward but cumulative consistent improvements make a big impact over time.

Want a bit more?

Even better if you….

✅ note one improvement

• Note one thing that could have made your week better.

Build on the momentum of progress, consistency and celebrating success by considering one small change you can make. A change that will bring an improvement in either,

· Quality of what you do

· Saving time for you or a customer

· Or improves the chances of meeting your objectives quicker.

For more information about how the RAS works, check out my newsletter from 1^st April 23, MSS #012: Be careful what you wish for.

Summary

Quick recap.

• You get more of what you focus on

• STOP obsessing with gaps

• Acknowledge the good stuff

• Look to learn, grow and nurture

See you next week. If you haven't already, follow me on LinkedIn and hit the bell for daily posts on tips, insights and techniques.

Want more? 

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1. Build self confidence and resilience fast - £48 training course

2. Work with me 121 - start with a FREE 15 minutes exploration session.

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That's it for this week. Thanks for reading, really hope this helped. Contact me if you think I can help you further at [email protected].

Happy thinking.