You can’t see it if you are not looking for it.
Yesterday, I set down my computer glasses on my dining room table. I rarely have my computer glasses on outside of my office. After setting down my glasses, I rushed off to an appointment. When I got back to my office, I couldn’t remember where I had put my computer glasses. This is a big deal, since I spend a large part of my time in front of a computer screen. It was critical that I find my prescription computer glasses fast so I could get back to work on a project for one of my clients.
I spent several minutes searching from room to room, scouring the likely places where the elusive glasses would be. After multiple trips from my office to the office where my accounting software resides, which was the last place I remembered having them on, I became alarmed, thinking that I had misplaced or lost my expensive, prescription computer glasses. Without them, I would not be able to work for more than a few minutes at my computer. That could be a disaster for meeting the needs of my clients.
I knew I had my glasses on earlier in the day. I remembered that I had set them down safely. But,here is the rub, because I am a visual thinker, when I remember something, I see a picture. If I can’t picture something (like the exact location of my glasses), I can walk right by it, even look directly at it and not “see” what I am looking for. Has this ever happened to you?
Why We Sometimes Can’t See What is Right in Front of Us
Our brains use a method of recognition called the “reticular activating system.” This part of your brain controls your level of attention. You can deliberately program it to filter information and pass it between you conscious brain (aware) and the subconscious brain (the part that works in the background).
You may be familiar with and an example of how the reticular activating system works. You may have experienced it yourself that last time you were thinking about purchasing a car. Suddenly, everywhere you were, you saw the make and model of the car you planned to buy. Did these cars suddenly materialize or multiply when you started to focus on them? Not at all, but your brain begin to filter them into your awareness. Your high speed processing computer, your brain, suddenly had instructions that made it easy for you to see what was already all around you. It recognized the importance of these cars and allowed you to see them.
Your Automatic Goal Seeking Mechanism
The reticular activating system has been called your automatic goal seeking mechanism. Setting goals using the power of the reticular activating system fires up your awareness of the elements you desire. Our brains can not differentiate between what we imagine and what is real. Using your brain to imagine a reality where you have exactly what you want will help you filter in the resources, people and actions needed to make the imagined real.
Getting back to my misplaced glasses, I knew that I was not seeing them, and rather than spend endless time in a frustrating search, I asked my husband to look for them for me. The result, he found them in plain sight, on my dining room table in less than 60 seconds.
If you don’t know what you are looking for, you can’t see it. If what you want doesn’t line up with what you believe to be true, you can’t see it, even if it is right in front of you. If you want to change your life and business outcome, you must first see the change, believe it possible, and then, your amazing brain will filter in success. It will know how to recognize opportunities. Try it and see what happens for you.
If you are a visual thinker like me, picturing what you want is like giving your brain a new, laser-focused, pair of glasses. Take this a step further. When you are building your marketing messages, you can create a picture of  what life will be like when your clients have what they want by using your products and services.
Just picture it.
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