How Can I Avoid Getting Triggered?
Question: “How can I avoid getting triggered?”
Gisa: I love this question because triggers apply to EVERYBODY. And while we may be aware of certain circumstances that trigger us, there are still some things that tend to come up when we least think they could possibly affect us. So how do we avoid getting triggered?
My direct answer to that would be SELF-AWARENESS. Eckhart Tolle says that consciousness is really about noticing when a particular thought is happening - in this case, your trigger. That’s the first step into consciousness or being truly aware.
If you were to ask yourself “what is my next thought?”, the answer would be nothing. Because the next thought can be controlled. So pause. Become aware that it is happening. Ask yourself what your next thought might be... and see where it goes. At this point, you have all the power to redirect.
Now, I know that it isn’t as easy as we might think. I mean, who just stops a trigger? And who has ALL THAT CONTROL? Being human, it is normal for us to feel things very deeply. So next time this happens, just take notice of what goes on in you and around you when you feel triggered. Notice, pay attention, and just be.
I do, however, wish to warn against the idea to “just think positive”. When we become aware and refer to the word “redirect”, this isn’t to say that you can simply forget and think happy thoughts. No. There is no such thing as “just think positive”. But you can train your mind to stretch positive experiences, so that you increase resiliency through time, and think better of triggering situations when you find yourself in them.
Remember, nothing happens over night. Work on training the mind every single day, every single moment.
