Reticular Activating System exercises are some of the simplest, most powerful brain training practices available to any entrepreneur, and almost nobody is talking about them.
If you heard about the (RAS) and wondered what to actually do with that information, you’re in the right place.
And if the phrase “reticular activating system” sounds a little intimidating or overly scientific, I want to set your mind at ease right now. These exercises are not complicated. They don’t require a meditation practice or a psychology degree or an hour of free time every morning.
You just need a few minutes a day, a little consistency, and a willingness to try something that… might feel a little unfamiliar at first.
That’s it.
Anyone can do this. You can do this. And by the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how.
What the Reticular Activating System Is and Why It Changes Everything for Entrepreneurs
Here’s the plain-English version.
The Reticular Activating System, or RAS, is a bundle of nerves at the base of your brainstem. Its job is to act as your brain’s filter. Out of the millions of pieces of information your senses take in every single second, the RAS decides what is worth paying attention to and what gets filtered out.
And here’s the part that changes everything: the RAS uses your dominant thoughts, beliefs, and expectations as its filtering criteria.
Whatever you focus on consistently, your RAS goes looking for evidence of it in your environment.
Focus on scarcity, struggle, and what is not working, and your RAS finds more of that. It highlights the client who did not respond, the post that flopped, the competitor who seems further ahead.
Focus on possibility, growth, and what’s working, and your RAS finds more of that instead. It can surface an opportunity you might have missed, the conversation that could become a client, or a small win that signals momentum.
Same business. Same day. Completely different experience depending on what your RAS is programmed to look for.
This is why I like to call the Reticular Activating System the “little matchmaker” that lives in your head. It spends all day, every day, looking for matches for the thoughts you’re thinking. It matches your “outside world” to your “inside world.”
And for entrepreneurs, it’s the mechanism behind your results. Here is the best part … once you understand it, training your RAS becomes the most practical thing you can do for your business.
This is How the RAS Affects Your Business Results Without You Realizing It
Right now, your RAS is already running. So the question is: is running for you, or against you?
Entrepreneur A wakes up and thinks: “I expect today to bring something good. My business is moving. I am figuring this out.” His RAS spends the day finding evidence that those thoughts are true. He notices the inquiry that came in overnight. He feels confident enough to follow up with a warm lead. He posts the thing He was hesitating about. And those small actions compound.
Entrepreneur B wakes up and thinks: “I am so behind. Nothing is working. Why is this so hard?” His RAS spends the day finding evidence of that instead. He notices every unanswered email. Hesitates before every action. He compares himself to everyone who seems further ahead! And the same opportunities pass by, invisible.
Same market. Same starting point. Two completely different RAS programs are running in the background.
The good news is that neither program is permanent. Both were built through repetition. And both can be changed through repetition. That is exactly what RAS exercises do.
The Most Important Thing to Know Before You Start RAS Exercises
Before we get into the exercises, I want to tell you something that is going to make all of this feel a lot more doable.
Your RAS responds to consistent new focus within 72 hours.
Three days. That’s the window. When you deliberately shift your thoughts and hold a new focus consistently for three days, your brain starts to shift what it notices and looks for. You can feel it! And most people are genuinely surprised by how quickly it happens.
This means you do not need to overhaul your entire mindset overnight. There’s no need to meditate for an hour every morning or eliminate every negative thought from your brain before the exercises will work.
You just need to practice consistently.
A few minutes a day. The same practices, repeated, until you feel a genuine shift in your emotion.
That last part matters. That’s how you know it’s working. When you do an exercise to prime your RAS, that positive emotional shift if your clue that it’s working. The more you can actually feel more relief, lightness, or positivity, even a little, the faster it works.
You don’t even have to believe it 100% before you start. You just have to be willing to try.
Now let’s get into the exercises.
Reticular Activating System Exercises You Can Start Today
These are the core RAS training exercises from the Train Your Brain method. Each one is simple. Each one works. And you can start any of them today.
1. The Matchmaker Game
So, I like to call the RAS “the little matchmaker” because that is exactly what it does all day long. It matches what you are thinking about and talking about to what shows up in your world. This next exercise lets you watch that matching happen in real time, so you can see with your own eyes that your brain can do exactly what you are training it to do.
In other words, this exercise will prove to you that your brain is working on your behalf and show you exactly how to use it.
Here’s how it works.
Pick one small, specific thing to focus on for 72 hours. Look at the list below and choose a category, then pick a subcategory within it.
- Glass: Blue, Red, or Green.
- Flowers: Roses, Tulips, or Orchids.
- Feathers: White, Brown, or Peacock.
- Cars: a specific make and model.
- Dogs: a specific breed.
Pick ONE. Just one.
Now turn it into a casual, easy phrase. Something like: “It seems I am seeing red roses everywhere.” Or: “I feel like I keep seeing blue glass.” Or: “I keep noticing peacock feathers.“
Say that phrase to yourself the way a song gets stuck in your head. Not intensely, and not desperately. Just lightly, as you go about your day, whenever you remember it. Setting a reminder on your phone or writing it on a sticky note and putting somewhere you will see it is a good way to remember to say it. That’s it!
Now this is important — after you say it, don’t scan the room looking for your thing. You’re not “looking for” the thing you picked. You’re letting your brain reveal it to you.
So say it for the fun of it, 25 times a day or more, lightly in the background while you’re doing other things. Just say the phrase when you remember it, go about your life, and let your little matchmaker do its job.
Within 72 hours, things will start showing up. Maybe you picked red roses, and you see a bouquet in a shop window. Maybe you see red tulips instead, or a red floral pattern on someone’s shirt. Those count. The little matchmaker is not rigid. It finds the category, the color, and theme, and it starts surfacing all of it.
That’s the whole point of this experiment. It’s not really about the roses or the feathers or the blue glass. It’s about building your confidence that your brain really does match what you focus on to what you experience. Once you see it work on something small and neutral, you start to trust that it will work on the bigger things too. Your business. Your income. Your clients. Your growth!
2. The Daily Mantra
A mantra is a short, positive sentence you repeat consistently to give your little matchmaker a new directive.
Think about the red roses exercise for a second. When you say “it seems I am seeing red roses everywhere,” your RAS starts scanning for red roses. It doesn’t matter that you’re not hunting for them. You said the phrase. Your matchmaker got the memo. And then red roses start showing up.
A business mantra works exactly the same way.
When you say “the right clients are finding me” or “something is shifting, and I can feel it,” your RAS gets the memo. It starts scanning your environment for evidence that those things are true. It notices the inquiry you might have scrolled past. It flags the conversation that could turn into something. It finds what you told it to look for.
That is not magic. That’s your brain doing its job. You’re just finally giving it better instructions!
So pick one phrase that feels true enough that when you say it, it feels good. It doesn’t have to feel 100% true yet. It just has to feel possible. That small window of possibility is all your RAS needs to get started.
Some options to try:
- Things are falling into place.
- Something is shifting. I can feel it.
- I am figuring this out.
- The right clients are finding me.
Say it in the morning with your morning beverage. Say it when you take breaks. Say it before you get on a virtual meeting or a call with a potential client. Say it to yourself or say it out loud. Both are good.
And here is the key, just like with the red roses: do not obsess. Do not go looking for proof. Do not spend the day scanning for evidence that your mantra is working. Just say it lightly, like an earworm, and let your matchmaker do the rest.
After 72 hours of saying it, your Reticular Activating System kicks in and you will start to see the evidence that it’s working.
If you want a mantra delivered straight to your inbox every morning so you have lots of ideas, the free Daily Mantra newsletter is for you. You receive a new mantra every single day, so you start your morning with a blast of “happy” and your RAS gets a positive directive before the day even begins.
3. The Daily Wins List
So we talked about red roses and mantras. You said the phrases, and then your RAS started finding those patterns, because you gave it a directive and it went to work.
The wins list does the same thing, and it’s great for your business momentum!
Here’s what happens when you write down the things that went right today:
- You’re handing your little matchmaker a new set of instructions.
- You’re saying: “Hey, this is what I want you to look for tomorrow.”
- And tomorrow… your RAS goes looking for more of it!
A kind word from a client. A post that got a comment. A call that felt good. A task that had been sitting on your list for a week, and you finally knocked it out.
That stuff counts. All of them count.
You don’t even need a big win. You just need to notice what’s already working and write it down. Because just like the mantra you repeat every morning, what you focus on consistently is what your RAS goes hunting for next.
Most entrepreneurs only track what went wrong. The slow month. The launch that underperformed. The strategy that flopped. And then they wonder why everything feels so hard.
It feels hard because the RAS is getting its instructions from the wrong list.
The wins list flips the filter. You hand your matchmaker a new memo every single day, and it gets to work finding more of what you told it to look for.
Every morning or evening, write down three or more things that went right. Don’t overthink it. Don’t wait for a big win to show up before you start. Start with what is already there, even if it feels small, and let your RAS build on it from there.
How to Make RAS Exercises a Daily Habit That Actually Sticks
The number one reason people stop is inconsistency. Not because the exercises are hard, but because they haven’t been attached to anything that already exists in the daily routine.
Attach the mantra to something you already do every morning. Say it while you make coffee. Or say it in the shower. Or put a post-it not on top of your laptop, so you say it before you open it.
And… normalize the fact that some days will feel more impactful than others. Some mornings, the mantra lands and you feel the shift immediately. Other mornings, it may feel like you are just saying words, and that’s okay. But here is something important …
… if it doesn’t feel good when you’re saying the words, stop and see if you can find gentler words that do feel good. Instead of saying, “Things are falling into place,” say, “I’m open to things falling into place.” Instead of saying, “The right clients are finding me,” say, “I like the idea of the right clients finding me.”
Feel around for the words that feel good to you. Consistency matters more than perfection, and the RAS is still taking it all in, even on the flat days, but your emotions are your guide.
Why RAS Training Works Faster When You Are Not Doing It Alone
Here’s something most RAS resources will not tell you.
Your RAS does not only respond to your internal thoughts. It also responds to your environment. The people around you. The conversations you have. The energy in the room, or the online community you spend time in.
When you are surrounded by people who are also training their brains, who expect growth, who share their wins and cheer yours, who speak the language of possibility and positive expectation, that environment reinforces everything you are building internally!
Your RAS picks up on it. It reads that environment as evidence that growth is normal, that success is expected, that the path you are on is the right one.
Now think about what happens when you do this work alone.
The people around you may not be doing any of this. They may be running on default thinking, talking about how hard business is, commiserating about slow months and difficult clients. And your RAS picks that up, too.
This is not about cutting people out of your life. It is about making sure that somewhere in your world there is a community doing the same brain training you are doing. People who get it. People who believe in what you are building. And people who remind you, on the hard days, that you are not behind and you are not broken.
Community is not a nice-to-have. It is a multiplier.
The Joyfluency Club is exactly that kind of community. Entrepreneurs who are doing the brain training together, every single day, so nobody has to figure it out alone.
What to Expect After You Start Reticular Activating System Exercises
Let me paint a realistic picture of what this journey looks like, because I want you to know what to expect, so you don’t quit right before the shift happens.
In the first 72 hours, most people notice a subtle but real change in their emotional baseline. Things feel a little lighter. The wins list starts revealing patterns of momentum they had not noticed before. The mantra starts to feel less like words and more like something true.
In the first few weeks, the shift deepens. Obstacles that would have sent them into a spiral start to feel smaller. Opportunities that would have been invisible start to appear. Confidence builds, not because everything is going perfectly, but because the RAS is finally working for them, instead of against them.
Over months, the transformation is significant. Entrepreneurs who were stuck in the same patterns for years (yes, years!) start to see real movement. Income grows. Client relationships improve. The business starts to feel like it fits them.
And yes, there will be days when it feels like nothing’s working. Days when the old default thinking rushes back, and the mantra feels hollow. That’s all part of the process, not a sign that it is not working.
On those days, you do the exercises anyway. You keep the consistency. You reach for the wins list. And you say the mantra. And you remind yourself: the RAS is still listening, even when it does not feel like it.
For more on how this practice connects to building real momentum in your business, the post on motivation in business is a great next read.
Read the following words out loud or to yourself right now, and feel the shift:
My RAS is working for me.
My brain is on my side.
My brain is finding evidence of my growth.
I do my best to train my brain every day.
I am getting more and more consistent.
I am getting better and better at this.
My RAS is gaining momentum.
I can feel the momentum building.
More and more, I’m expecting good things.
I’m feeling better and better.
I’m feeling better and better.
I’m feeling better and better.
I’m getting better at this.
I can feel the shift.
I’m feeling it right …
… NOW! WOOHOO! 🥳🎉
Your RAS is already working. It is matching your thought every single day. And so now, the only question is whether you like what it is matching.
These exercises – the daily mantra, the wins list, and the Matchmaker Game – are how you take control of that filter and point it in the direction you actually want to go.
They are simple. Anyone can do them. And you do not have to figure any of it out alone.
Start with the free Daily Mantra newsletter. Receive a short, powerful mantra to your inbox every single morning so your RAS gets a positive directive before the day even begins.
And when you’re ready to go deeper and do this work inside a community that is training right alongside you, the Joyfuency Club is where we do exactly that, every week.
You have totally got this. 🙂
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for reticular activating system exercises to work?
Most people feel a noticeable shift in their emotional baseline and evidence that it’s working within 72 hours of consistent practice. That is three days. The RAS responds quickly to repeated focus, especially when you intentionally go for the positive emotional shift. Deeper and more lasting shifts build over weeks and months of daily consistency, but the early signs come fast enough to keep you motivated to continue.
Do I need to meditate to train my RAS?
No. The exercises in this article require no meditation experience at all. The daily mantra, the wins list, and the Matchmaker Game are all simple, accessible practices that take a few minutes each. If you already meditate and love it, these practices pair beautifully with that. But meditation is not a prerequisite for any of this to work.
Can RAS exercises really help my business grow?
Yes, and here is the direct reason why. Your RAS shapes what you notice, what you act on, and how you show up in every business interaction. When your RAS is pointed toward growth and possibility, you take more confident action, you spot more opportunities, and you attract clients who feel your energy. The RAS does not replace strategy. It creates the internal state from which your best strategy actually works.
What happens if I miss a day of RAS training?
You start again the next day. That’s it. Missing a day does not erase the progress you have already made. The RAS does not reset to zero because you skipped a morning. What matters is the overall pattern of consistency, not perfection. If you miss a day, that’s okay. Just pick up the mantra, add to the wins list, and keep going. Consistency over time is the whole game, and one missed day is just one missed day.
