Sudden Influence: How Spontaneous Events Shape Our Lives

Songwriter Carly Simon recalls an emotionally intense high school episode when her boyfriend referred to her stammer as "charming." Simon regards that moment as a turning point for her self-esteem, and so her future. Other celebrities share similar, seemingly minor moments with truly life-changing effects. Tennis champion Venus Williams recalls one of her sister's pep talks when "her words changed my life." Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal credits an offhand remark by his mother as "the words that changed everything for me." All three cases illustrate a Spontaneous Influence Event, or SIE. In this book, psychologist Michael Rousell, who has studied such events across decades, shows us how SIEs--which occur when we are emotionally charged--do occur for most of us, for better or worse. These events trigger an intense emotional response and activate a mental state of extreme suggestibility. There is thus fertile ground for statements about our worth, abilities, and potential to be implanted solidly in our minds, leading to success or failure, often without our completely comprehending the effect and why it occurred.

Rousell explains how the sudden impact of these SIEs disarms our instinctive defense mechanisms and rational thinking processes, leaving us open to instant adoption of new beliefs. In this unique book, he looks at the neurobiology of this spontaneous change, why the events occur, how to defend against the negative among them, and how to manage or promote positive SIEs. He also explains, through common vignettes, how and why the brain encodes SIEs to be triggered again and again in memory at later dates. Finally, Rousell details how we can recognize Elevated Suggestibility States or "teachable moments," then use that knowledge to create positive SIEs for ourselves and those we love. And he explains how we can undo the damage of negative SIEs that may be haunting us, holding us back, or hurting us.