The Choice Point

April 24, 2023
Cognitive therapist Grover and psychologist Rhodes aim to help readers harness “multisensory imagery” to achieve their goals in this smart debut. The authors focus on “choice points” at which one can choose “quick fix” gratification or a long-term goal, and show how to use “Functional Imagery Training” to opt for the latter. Using journaling prompts, the authors guide readers through a FIT program, starting with formulating goals and then making plans to achieve them (“What will you need to change about your story to get closer to your dream?”). Next, readers should draw on multisensory imagery to “visualize” steps, a strategy the authors claim is powerful because “when you engage your senses in your imagination, your body reacts with a physiological response that is close to the real deal.” To that end, they explain how to sharpen auditory, visual, and even olfactory senses (“find an odor that is noticeable, powerful, and pleasurable” and clock one’s mood and surroundings; later, use the “saved mental picture” to recreate the smell). The authors draw on solid scientific research and make a strong case that “imagery evokes emotion, and emotion shapes behavior more than talking about changing behavior.” Readers looking to get off the couch and make some changes will benefit.

June 10, 2024

When tennis champion Martina Navratilova writes the introduction to a book about the power people have over choices, it's hard not to love it. This is a carefully laid-out and actionable book about how to look at goals and dreams in ways that are both courageous and realistic. It gives readers strategies for moving toward the lives they want by identifying ambitions, creating plans, weighing possibilities, identifying risks, and developing the resiliency to course-correct as needed. Whether one's desired destination is Wimbledon or just an office a few cubicles up the corporate ladder, coauthors Rhodes, a British psychologist, and Grover, a U.S. executive coach and therapist, suggest that Functional Imagery Training provides the tools needed to get there. The book begins with guided self-reflection practices before moving into imagery training, which may seem a little woo-woo at first but ultimately comes across as a valuable, valid process, more grounded in processes and planning than in manifestation. VERDICT An easily digestible guide to abolishing negative thoughts and self-defeating behaviors.--Emily Bowles

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