Empower Your Emotional Triggers

Empower Your Emotional Triggers

I don't know about you. I love it when we miraculously put together the perfect day and then life decides to get in the way. 

Well, not life, and maybe I don't love it, but occasionally something or someone will cross your path and cross your wires.

I don't know anybody who doesn't get hit smack in the face with a situation that triggers a feeling deep inside their soul, stirs emotion, and results in a reaction or response that makes you say, "Why did I say that?"

Of course, we are emotional creatures, so it makes sense that robust emotional responses are a thing for most of us. Still, a little common sense will tell you that it doesn't always serve us. It gets even worse when people sedate their emotions to protect themselves. Not only do they miss great opportunities, when they are triggered, it becomes an 8.0 earthquake.

So, how do you deal with it?

The way I handle it is to understand that triggers usually happen when I least expect them. Still, my Scott LOGIC tells me that once I experience the trigger and learn the lesson, a little discipline in my actions tends to smooth things out the next time. 

Here's what happens.

When I get triggered, a feeling emerges inside of me. Like me, the problem is that most folks jump from a feeling to an emotional response before their mouth knows what's happening. A better way is to recognize the feeling, pause, review the emotional dialog running in your mind, and then allow your throughs to become your words. 

Life gets better when you have the discipline to recognize what you've learned from a previous trigger, audit your reactions, and deliver your response. Strangely, it becomes as if you were never triggered at all.

Look, we live in a world filled with shoot-from-the-hip opportunities, many of them purposely put in front of us to get a response. Don't fall for it. Keep your mind on how you want to experience the world and stick with it. You'll be amazed how all the drama goes away.

* This article was originally published here