Train your mind to spot opportunity not obstacles

Think back to the last time you bought a bright blue phone case—suddenly you saw blue cases everywhere. That shift is your Reticular Activating System (RAS) at work, filtering out everything that didn’t matter and spotlighting what did. Mark first described the RAS as the brain’s bouncer, deciding which stimuli enter your awareness. If you’re always worried about failure, your RAS shows you proof of mishaps. But if you teach it to search for opportunity, your whole view of life changes.

Here’s how it feels in real life: Sarah, an aspiring chef, wrote “I can innovate in the kitchen” on a card taped inside her pantry. Day after day she noticed creative flavor combinations on restaurant menus and in grocery aisles. These “signs” made her feel empowered to experiment. Within weeks, her RAS was guiding her toward new recipes instead of reminding her of past cooking flops.

By intentionally choosing what you look for—through a mantra and daily observations—you reprogram your RAS to serve your dreams. Neuroscience shows that when you repeatedly focus on positive cues, new neural pathways solidify, making optimism and possibility your default perspective. Suddenly your world feels full of clues pointing you toward what matters most.

Visualize this: each morning you place your mantra where you’ll see it first, like on your mirror or monitor. Then, throughout your day, you carry a small notebook and jot down any unexpected clue—a heart-shaped leaf, a friend’s encouraging text, a catchy headline—that resonates with your goal. At night, you revisit those entries, smile at how your mind has been quietly guiding you, and note the pattern you’re weaving. By teaching your RAS what to look for, you’ll find paths opening in ways you never imagined. Give this method a try tonight.