How I Accidentally Caused a Profound Change in the Behaviour of Other People

There is an NLP term called “Pattern Interrupt” which basically tells that when you do something unexpected, other people do not know how to react and they are left without any programming. This is the time that you can make the other person do anything you want. For example, some hypnotists can put people to sleep or reprogram their minds once people are in such interrupted state.

I’ve never tried to consciously apply the pattern interrupt. It’s very likely that another person would not want this to be done, so that means it’s against their will. However I cannot guarantee that this kind of pattern interrupt would lead to future negative outcomes since I have no experience in this sort of thing.

Nevertheless, me and my Comfort Zone Challenge attendees recently managed to alter the behaviour of other people without intending to do so. It was absolutely fascinating and even shocking to see this happening.

I really hope that after reading this post you will not attempt to apply this for anything negative, as what you give out you get back. I simply want to share my newly-found knowledge so that you would gain a better understanding of human nature.

So here it goes…

The Pattern Interrupt Story

I’ve recently organised a Comfort Zone Challenge (which I will keep organising) and we had a fantastic time together. When we met, we firstly discussed the theory part. I described how to challenge your comfort zone, how to gain confidence and go for what you want in life. Then we went on to apply the theory.

Each person had 5 tasks to accomplish which varied in difficulty. The first task was the easiest one and then it got harder and harder, and the fifth task was the hardest of all.

There were different areas that you could challenge yourself in, but the hardest one was the “Overall Confidence” area. This was the area most people chose, including myself (I do the tasks too). When people read the fifth (hardest) Overall Confidence challenge for the first time, they could not help but laugh. It was challenging indeed! So the fifth challenge was…

To go to a busy store and shout “I love this world!” or “God bless you all!”

We all did it. It was extremely challenging and if felt so good once it was over! Even when I think about it it still makes me laugh!

So the first person went into a large luxury store with red carpets, chandeliers and all.

We were already waiting for him in the store, pretending that we are simply minding our own business. It’s a bit noisy in the store since there are many shoppers. He shouts as hard as he can:

“I love this world!!!”.

The store goes quiet. All people look at him. All people are confused. Their patterns are interrupted and so they have no programs to run. They are in such a receptive state that anyone could hypnotise them to some degree. During this very pattern interrupt, our group starts clapping. Others follow without much thinking.

How profound.

This reaction of others really surprised me. So basically when their patterns get interrupted, they search for someone to model – anyone. So when someone takes some action whilst others are still disoriented, they will take this action too.

If I would hear this being told to me, I would straight away think how to apply it. I hope you think about the possible (positive) application too.

Here are some suggestions…

If you are trying to convince someone that your suggestion is the one that should be accepted (in whatever situation), you can do something unexpected that would break the person’s pattern and then say something along the lines of:

“So you agree with this, yes?”

Or let’s say someone has a hostile attitude towards you. You could do something they don’t expect, and then, whilst they are without any program, give a suggestion such as:

“Please understand my situation”

or

“Have a pleasant attitude”

These suggestions might still be against the will of another person, although they are positive. So I cannot guarantee that there wouldn’t be any negative outcomes as a result of such action.

I might try to do something like it and then monitor how my life unfolds. If I notice something weird happening, I will update this post. So keep referring to it, or simply subscribe to the comments of this post and I will update it with a comment if I notice something unusual.

Related posts:

1. Three Types Of People And Their Destinies – Voluntary Strugglers
2. Three Types Of People And Their Destinies – Progress Makers
3. Three Types Of People And Their Destinies – Devoted Dreamers
4. The Impact People In Your Life Have On You
5. 12 Mistakes People Make That Lead Them To Disempowerment And Misery