How well do you know your Brain Filters?

What do we filter out and what do we let through?

There is an extraordinary amount of input coming at us from the environment at any given moment.  
We don't have the capacity to pay attention to all of it.  And if we did it would drive us mad!  

So our brain filters come into play, to keep us sane.
They delete, distort and generalise information in order to show us the important bits that we need to be aware of, while getting rid of other bits to keep overwhelm at bay.

Why contemplate a decision again and again when we have already gone through the process and found a useful answer?  Our brain filters help us apply this 'answer' again and again, without the need for conscious intervention.

An excellent time-saver and hugely valuable!  That is, until the game has changes.

"Say NO to invitations to speak in public because you get tough-tied, embarrassed and feel bad" may be a good decision filter for a young person with a fragile self-image.  How useful is it when that person is 30 and in order to get that sought-after promotion they need to give presentations and chair meetings?  Saying 'YES' and getting some practice may be a better choice.

The more aware we are of our brain filters, the more we can check out whether they are doing a good job for us, or need some adjustment.  Attitudes and beliefs, values, past decisions, memories.  They all have an impact on how we feel about what we are experiencing, and the action we take as a result.  Are you running your filters, or are they running you?

The great news is that although filters are often unconscious, we can increase our awareness of them and ultimately we can change them.

Going through a structured process to examine your thinking can have a dramatic impact on your future results.  How often do you reflect on your thinking and whether it is, in fact, taking you towards your dreams?

Our brain filters have been built up over time.  Some may support us.  Some may not.  And in looking at them objectively we are able to decide whether they take us in the direction of our goals.  [All of this does presuppose that you have an idea where you want to head in your life ... this not 'a given' for many people, but it's also not hard.  And it increases your likelihood of getting there.  Just ask Alice!]

An interesting phenomena is the 'delete' filter in reverse, the 'reticular activating system' or 'RAS'.

Have you ever noticed that once you become aware of something, for whatever reason, you tend to experience more of it?  Take buying a car, for example.  Imagine you decide on a certain car because it looks good.  You've only seen a few on the road and it seems pretty exclusive.  That is, until you seriously consider buying it ...  Even before you pick it up the road is suddenly flooded with them - and mostly in the same colour as yours.

What's happening?  Are there really more of these cars on the road?  No - it is your RAS picking them up and it works like this:

Once you tell yourself that something is important, the RAS adjusts the deletion mechanism to include the thing you have defined.  So it does the opposite of 'delete' and highlights every occurrence.  The conversation you hear across the room about a great resort in Vietnam, just after you've decided to go there for a holiday.  A piece of 'junk mail' giving you details of a cooking course at the Fish Markets when you have just decided to perfect cooking Chilli Mud Crab.  Before, there was no reason to notice this particular car, or the quiet conversation across the room, or the flyer from the Fish Markets.  Now there is.

Imagine how well this can help us in achieving our goals.  Imagine trying to capitalise on the value of the RAS without any goals??  Interesting.

If you have noticed your RAS in action I'd love to hear about your experiences.