In today’s episode I’ll describe the process of sense-making that goes on instantly during a moment of surprise.
Learn why asking WHO is most powerful as an agent of influence is not necessarily the best question to ask. The question WHEN appears more enlightening. michaelrousell.com
Learn how our brains are essentially prediction machines and their primary function is to reduce surprises by developing an increasingly nuanced model of the world. michaelrousell.com
Learn why much of what we do is driven by unconscious processes. Part 1. michaelrousell.com
Learn how beliefs about the external world are easily verified, but beliefs about ourselves are self-affirming. michaelrousell.com
Learn how the experience of emotional arousal is adaptable. Heightened emotion is the brain telling us that something important is happening. On occasion, this allows us to label that emotion to create the experience. michaelrousell.com
Learn how seemingly simple comments, especially when surprising, may create self-perpetuating mindsets. Once we accept an explanation of our behavior, that explanation continues, and fortifies. It’s one more reason to always focus on positive attributes. michaelrousell.com
Learn how advertisers use surprise strategically to impress us with their brands and trigger new belief formation. This all takes place instantly, and outside conscious awareness. michaelrousell.com
Our self-concept serves as a basis for screening, categorizing, and interpreting our experiences. Surprises that disrupt our self-concept differ from surprises about the external world. Self-concept surprises may trigger life-changing beliefs. michaelrousell.com
Learn how movie directors and television shows use surprise strategically to manipulate our emotions, enhance our excitement, and create spontaneous belief transformation. michaelrousell.com
Learn how a portion of an Adam Grant TED talk surprised me, triggering an instant belief formation. I used to feel lazy and unproductive when I procrastinated. Now I do it strategically. michaelrousell.com
Learn how One-Shot learning, triggered by surprise, involves a different brain system than gradual learning. One-Shot learning works like a switch. Our emotions trigger this complex cognitive process during moments of high uncertainty such as surprise. michaelrousell.com
Learn how information, received after a surprise, predisposes you to apply that new information instinctively in subsequent situations. michaelrousell.com
A surprise alarms us that our expectations are out of whack and need a spontaneous adjustment. Learn how comedians use surprise in punchlines to create dissonance with our expectations. michaelrousell.com
Learn how the element of surprise evolved as a survival mechanism to trigger an instant belief formation. michaelrousell.com
-Surprisecast is a captivating journey into how your brain secretly changes your beliefs during moments of surprise. -Using current neurological and cognitive research, Dr. Michael Rousell identifies and maps the consequences of surprise as a trigger for instant belief formation, one of the brain’s greatest survival tools. -You’ll learn how to craft moments of surprise intentionally and strategically, to be the creator of richer lives.