I have three mentors who are pretty-much my go-to when it comes to doing life and business: Katrina Ruth, Jenn Scalia and Jessica Caver Lindholm.
These women are badass AF and living life and doing business in a way that inspires me and that I aspire to.
And these women also trigger the fuck out of me. Like, big time.
In fact, over the years, I’ve had to stop following one or all of them at different times because I was getting triggered so much.
But I always swing right back around at some point. (Soulmate mentors are an ebb and flow relationship.) I’m sure it will always be that way and I’m OK with that (and I know they are too b/c they get it).
I used to think that getting triggered was a bad thing. I think most people think that it is. But over the past year, I’ve begun looking at triggers in a new way.
I’ve started to look deeper into things when I get triggered by something/someone, and instead of automatically reacting how I usually would, I take a step back and ask myself, WHY am I being triggered right now? What’s going on inside? What am I feeling? What am I believing? What am I thinking? What old memories or stories are coming up?
Essentially, I dig into what the reason was for me getting triggered in the first place.
And what I’ve discovered is that triggers are actually areas where you’re ready to grow and expand–your beliefs, your thoughts, your perspective, and your actions. They are opportunities for you to step up to a new level in yourself, in life and in your business (if you have one).
Leaning into my triggers has made a huge difference in my life, my relationships, my business and how I feel overall. And I decided a long time ago that it was no longer acceptable for me to not feel good.
So I don’t watch the news, I unfollow people who trigger me too much (even people I love and admire), I don’t check my email or social media first thing in the morning, I don’t argue with people (too much, LOL) about things, even when I know I’m right, I skip events or reschedule things when they don’t feel good, I make decisions based on what feels good to me.
I protect my inner peace and my inner feeling state, fiercely, because I know how much it matters.
But I also dig into the things that trigger me, so that I can better understand myself and create even more inner peace, happiness and feel-good.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the easiest thing to do, to deal with your triggers, especially in the moment when you’re being triggered. It’s so easy to just react to things instead of being intentional about how you feel and not allowing your inner peace to be disturbed by anything external, no matter what it is.
If it was easy, everyone would do it. But if you want to be happy, and you want to feel good, it’s worth it to face into your triggers instead of just continuing to react to them.
You get to choose how you react to things and how you choose to feel about them. Your reactions and your feelings are always in your control.
So when you get triggered by something/someone–a post on social media, something in the news, something someone says or does, something someone wears or how someone looks, etc., you have a choice:
1. React the way you have up until now
2. Ask yourself WHY am I triggered right now? and allow yourself an opportunity to grow and expand
We didn’t come to this life to live small, meaningless, comfort-zone experiences. What would be the point in that?
We came here to live BIG, with PURPOSE, and on the EDGE of what feels comfortable to us. Always pushing ourselves to new heights and new levels of connection with our Higher Selves and our purpose here on this planet.
Triggers are gonna happen in life. It’s how you deal with them that truly makes the difference.
Dream life or bust,
jen
