Have you ever bought a car and then noticed for weeks afterward that you saw the same make, model, and color of your car seemingly everywhere that you looked.Have you ever heard about an event  such as a speech or music concert or book signing  that you decided to attend and then wondered whether you must have been overlooking it because you then seemed to hear and read  everywhere about the same event.

Or have you ever learned about what to you was a new technique to improve your running or walking performance or to prevent injury while running or walking, only to realize that it seemed as if  the whole world or at least all of your training buddies   already knew about the .These are three examples of the reticular activating system (RAS) at work.

Your RAS comprises some seven different neuronal areas that connect the brainstem, which regulates the central nervous system as well as cardiac and respiratory function, with the cerebral cortex of your brain.The key functions of the RAS are the regulation of sleep wake transitions and the mediation of transitions between a relaxed but wakeful state and a state of high attention.This can be as simple as the daily exercise of finding a quiet place, closing your eyes, and imagining with detail and emotion for a few minutes the workout opportunities that you want.This can be as simple as drawing or pasting on a sheet of paper, if not a poster board, some pictures of what you believe represent your ideal running or walking workout, and then looking at it for a few minutes every day.