I bumped into an old client the other day who asked me, “Ellie, how can I stop being triggered once and for all?! I feel like I’m humming along, feeling good and centered then POW! I get triggered by some small event.” Here is how I replied:

What if getting triggered is just another way to become your Higher Self? What if you stopped looking at getting triggered, or hooked, by something someone said or did as something bad but instead looked at it as something good, like a signpost saying “I don’t like it here, I think I’ll go over there”?

Each trigger is refining your preferences as you experience them. When you are consciously awake to what is going on in your life, a trigger is an opportunity for you to let go of something that no longer serves you. And that’s a good thing! Remember, you are only triggered if you are still hanging onto a thread of belief that is related to the trigger.

In the example of my client, she was triggered by some gossip. She actually found herself shocked by the subject matter and participating in the continuation of the gossip. She was hooked into the story. The only reason she got hooked was because there was some part of the story that was fascinating to her and triggered old patterns of insecurity and comparison, like “at least I’m better than that!” attitude. As soon as we looked at that my client said, “You’re right, I chose to participate.” I said, “Yes, and you baited your own hook!”

Being Triggered is an Opportunity for Growth

The mindset switch is to look at your triggers as opportunities for you to grow and decide what your values are then live them; pause and take responsibility for your choices, be awake to the feelings that are being triggered, name them, then choose what you believe NOW and where you want to go from here. I’ve done a lot of this work myself so that when I’m around gossip, I usually move along or say, “Hey, I was really enjoying the conversation a moment ago. Can we go back there?”

I hope this story resonates with you if you’re experiencing some triggers. This is the juicy stuff that you can use to express the highest version of yourself.

I believe in your most authentic YOU. So next time you’re triggered, or hooked, pause and decide how you really want to respond.

My favorite question is, “What would love have me do?”

To your freedom 🙂

Mindfully,