Something is going to trigger you today, or this week. Most people treat that as bad luck, a problem landing on them out of nowhere. I don’t see it that way.
I think of triggers as curriculum. Not a problem occurring, a lesson arriving. Something in you called it in, even if you can’t see how yet, and the moment it shows up is basically saying here comes your test.
That reframe changes what you do next. If a trigger is bad luck, your job is to get away from it as fast as possible. If a trigger is curriculum, your job is different. You’re not avoiding it. You’re noticing what it’s actually asking of you.
This isn’t about liking the trigger or pretending it feels good. It’s about what you do with the two seconds right after it lands. Most people spend those two seconds bracing, or blaming, or already halfway into the old pattern. The test isn’t whether you get triggered. Everyone does. The test is what you reach for once you are.
Utilizing all of the triggers as a call to a higher understanding doesn’t mean every hard moment is secretly a gift. It means the moment isn’t random, and you’re more ready for it than you think. That’s the shift. Not from triggered to untriggered. From triggered-and-caught-off-guard to triggered-and-already-knew-this-was-coming.
For many clients, they have a trigger in their world that is a person. And many times they have to see this person over and over. And in the past, they would allow this person to control their mood, without realizing it. For many of my clients, the truth is – that person is your teacher now. They bother you, their behavior bothers you, and you are learning to deal with it in a way that doesn’t ruin your day. At some point you’ll be able to walk by, an don’t even notice they’re standing there in a chicken suit trying to get your attention.
That is when clients return back to the office and report, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Good job, you passed the test.