The Holy Sh*t Moment: How lasting change can happen in an instant. James Fell

inventor of the laser, Gordon Gould, to provide an example of how scientific advancement usually works.

       In the middle of one Saturday night … the whole thing … suddenly popped into my head and I saw how to build the laser … but that flash of insight required the 20 years of work I had done in physics and optics to put all the bricks of that invention in there.

      A pot-smoking teenager watching SpongeBob SquarePants in his parent’s basement isn’t likely to have a stroke of brilliance regarding the nature of light amplification. Gould, a renowned physicist who had worked on the development of the first atomic bomb, spent twenty years of toil working to resolve an enigma, and when enlightenment was finally achieved, some would refer to that as an epiphany. But it is no such thing. It is simply that last piece of the puzzle—a puzzle he’d been working on for decades—being put into place.

      Human behavior can work in similar ways. One may have been debating, mulling over, and gathering information about a new path for years, and a life-changing event—that triggering moment—is the final illumination before they are ready to make that sudden switch from unconsciously “thinking about it,” to an instant and wholehearted This is happening!

      Conversely, it truly can strike out of nowhere, because decisive behavioral change is not often the same as building a laser or theorizing gravity. It can be as simple as hearing an old song on the radio. You may be driving along, listening to the classic rock station, and Van Halen’s 1992 hit “Right Now” comes on and you feel it; you realize it is indeed your tomorrow, and you decide to catch the magic moment. Such a phenomenon can reshape your sense of being and purpose in life in a near instantaneous wave of emotion that provides you with new insight and motivation regarding the way forward.

      Lesley Chapman didn’t dwell on what was wrong with her life or how to change it until that singular moment when she discovered what it was like to feel something right.

      For some, they need to hit rock bottom before they’re ready to leap toward the light. You don’t need to be that desperate, but you’re reading this because you know that change—be it moderate or massive—is something you desire. If you feel dramatic change is something you must achieve, then you also need to seek out a transformative moment to initiate such change.

      Much of the pre-work involves information gathering and embracing new ways of thinking, but it also requires not letting sudden insight pass you by.

      It involves opening your mind, asking the question Is this it?

      It’s about looking at the world with an investigative mind-set, in which what you seek is opportunity to change. Inspiration can arrive from anywhere and at any time. Be prepared.

       Is. This. It?

      Ask yourself that question when you experience something that might be a catalyst for change. Most of the time, the answer to the question is going to be “No, it really isn’t.” But it’s all practice.

      It can be because of this practice, the opening of yourself, the attunement, that allows epiphany to strike. Speaking of practice, getting stuck is good.

      “When you tackle a problem, and fail to solve it, it sticks in your craw—and your brain.” This is from Professor Beeman’s book The Eureka Factor, coauthored with John Kounios, a professor of psychology in cognitive and brain sciences at Drexel University. The authors explain that ideas can require an “incubation period.” The work you do thinking now doesn’t mean you have your epiphany right now too. You work until you “get stuck.” Then the unconscious takes over while you’re busy doing other things.

      In most stories of major life transformation, an epiphany is almost a constant. Many who have experienced massive change can identify a specific instance when their outlook got on track in a much more positive way. Changing one’s body is a powerful manifestation of the moment of change, because a healthy body often equates to a healthy mind, and overcoming the challenges associated with physical improvement also imparts valuable life skills. I mean, unless it’s weight loss resulting from unhealthy methods such as popping unregulated diet pills like they’re Skittles or going on some batshit crazy fad diet some celebrity is flogging. The latest dietary dumbassery I heard about was an Oscar winner proudly proclaiming the completion of her eight-day-long, goat-milk-only cleanse. I’m happy I don’t have the job of cleaning her bathroom.

       The Snowball Effect

      There is a switch inside many people set at “I can’t.”

      When it flips over to “I can” for one thing, it doesn’t stop there. Research shows life-changing epiphanies are rarely “one and done.” Often the catalyst for initial change is a massive mental shift, but smaller epiphanies can arise at random during people’s life journeys, to bump them further along their quests to be the best humans they can. Professor Miller explained that people who have such experiences often have further, clarifying epiphanies later in life. “There appears to be an opening to having that experience,” he said.

      Take a moment and think back: Has this happened before?

      Have you experienced a life-changing moment in the past? What was it like? How did it manifest? Can you relive it? Can you imagine something like that happening again? Did you learn something important from the experience you can bring toward future life change?

      If the answer is yes, it’s called a “past performance accomplishment.” It’s a parameter of self-efficacy theory, created by Stanford University psychology professor Albert Bandura in 1977. It’s about how you form perceptions regarding your ability to perform specific behaviors. Past success = confidence, which makes people more determined to persevere, even in the face of adversity.

      If you’ve had an important insight in the past, it makes it more likely you can have one again in the future. Cue Jimi Hendrix: Are you experienced?

      Positive life change can assume myriad forms; don’t fret if you’re not interested in pushing your body. But I do encourage contemplating some form of activity as part of the new you. I say this because you were not meant to sit idly and watch Earth spin on her axis. You were meant to rise and join the fray that is the human condition. Movement empowers from top to toenails; it can even come to define you, should you find the right exercise.

      Whichever activity a person chooses, if they enjoy it, is the right one. The path ahead has more choices than there are beers in a Munich autumn. Finding which flavor suits best requires taking a few taste tests.

      The Holy Sh!t Moment is about achieving the clarity of purpose to carve your own path to success.

       Switching Tracks

      Consider this word carefully: “momentous.”

      The topic of this book is not about merely deciding the future path your life will take. It is about a momentous event in which you suddenly become aware of the answer and change at a fundamental level from the experience. It’s not only a spark of insight, it’s an awakening of passion.

      Such an “answer” is rarely well-defined or black-and-white, and effort is required to find your way along the appropriate path.

      Do you remember The Karate Kid? Not the worst film ever, but the message is dogshit.

      Perhaps you’re too young, or maybe you were there, in that theater, and you disagree. That’s because it was the eighties, the decade of bad decisions, even though we didn’t realize it at the time. So many pastels …

      Go ahead and watch it again—the original with Ralph Macchio—and see if you realize why the message it relays is canine feces.

      My wife is a second-degree black belt in karate. Both our children are black belts, and my daughter competes at the international level. I can attest that you don’t get good at karate by spending a few weeks waxing cars and painting fences. You get good at it because it’s your lifelong passion. And because it is your passion, you are motivated