Identifying your trigger, or the thing that pushes you into self-detrimental behaviors, is a good thing to understand. But we don't always want to. And even if we wanted to, finding your trigger isn't always easy. Because, you may have more than one.
It feels like someone just pulled the trigger of an invisible gun. All of a sudden, you're running, scared. Hiding behind whatever you can find. Sometimes that fear pushes us to do things that are self-detrimental. In other words, we hurt ourselves in the process of avoiding whatever type of problem we are facing...and some problems set us off in ways others don't.
Finding your trigger is a tricky process. You have to be honest with yourself--and even if you think you are, think again. Whatever your trigger(s) may be, the way your brain deals with the underlying fear that erupts is to help you survive that fear and move forward. Your brain, and body, want you to survive. So the two entagled entities will work hard to accomplish that goal. And the interesting part of this physiological conundrum is, whatever behavior you pursue after your trigger is sprung, because it helps to ease your fear, your brain will create what is called a neural pathway--this means that the next time your trigger rears its ugly head, you will want to pursue whatever previous behavior carved a neural pathway to your soul.
Einstein's ideas on the universe were that everything is related. And we're no different. Look at the scope of your entire existence. From babyhood to childhood to teenhood to adulthood. The answers may be fairly obvious but oftentimes, we tend to block out those things that are the foundations for our fears. If you can pinpoint the origin of your fears, the fears that cause you to launch into self-detrimental behavior, you can create new neural pathways to deal with the problems you face.
So instead of smoking cigarettes or eating bags of chocolate or buying everything you can lay your hands on, you can use meditation, yoga, pilates, physical exercise, a bath or shower, accupuncture, prayer, journal writing--any number of effective methods to "handle" the fear without also hurting yourself.
And forgive yourself when you find that you fall back on your old behaviors once in awhile. The old neural pathways still exist. They don't disappear. You just need to retrain your brain EVERY time that a certain response to a certain fear is just as satisfying at making you feel safe and calm. Which isn't always easy to do. But it is possible to utilize your new neural pathways more often than not. You may find that you can go for months and months relying on new neural pathways and still find yourself back at the drawing board. In some ways, the behavior is similar to an addiction. You feel good--better than good--great, when you engage in whatever behavior that eases your trigger-fear. So it's important that you choose a new behavior that truly eases your fear but at the same time, isn't detrimental to your person physically, emotionally, financially, professionally, or personally.
Finding your trigger-fears may be one of the most important things you do for not only yourself, but your family, your friends and the rest of humanity. Such fears are the root of not only our own misery, but the miseries of the world. As humans, we're born with a fear of falling. Start there. You may be afraid to fall professionally or personally. You may be afraid to fall as a parent. You may be afraid that you'll fall in life and never get back up again. We take the power of that primal fear for granted. It's easier to do than than facing it.
But just remember, ignorance is the CHOICE of the apathetic. Our lives are driven by our choices, even those we choose not to be aware of.
Until next time, dearest readers. Remember, trigger-happy is a state of mind....
It feels like someone just pulled the trigger of an invisible gun. All of a sudden, you're running, scared. Hiding behind whatever you can find. Sometimes that fear pushes us to do things that are self-detrimental. In other words, we hurt ourselves in the process of avoiding whatever type of problem we are facing...and some problems set us off in ways others don't.
Finding your trigger is a tricky process. You have to be honest with yourself--and even if you think you are, think again. Whatever your trigger(s) may be, the way your brain deals with the underlying fear that erupts is to help you survive that fear and move forward. Your brain, and body, want you to survive. So the two entagled entities will work hard to accomplish that goal. And the interesting part of this physiological conundrum is, whatever behavior you pursue after your trigger is sprung, because it helps to ease your fear, your brain will create what is called a neural pathway--this means that the next time your trigger rears its ugly head, you will want to pursue whatever previous behavior carved a neural pathway to your soul.
Einstein's ideas on the universe were that everything is related. And we're no different. Look at the scope of your entire existence. From babyhood to childhood to teenhood to adulthood. The answers may be fairly obvious but oftentimes, we tend to block out those things that are the foundations for our fears. If you can pinpoint the origin of your fears, the fears that cause you to launch into self-detrimental behavior, you can create new neural pathways to deal with the problems you face.
So instead of smoking cigarettes or eating bags of chocolate or buying everything you can lay your hands on, you can use meditation, yoga, pilates, physical exercise, a bath or shower, accupuncture, prayer, journal writing--any number of effective methods to "handle" the fear without also hurting yourself.
And forgive yourself when you find that you fall back on your old behaviors once in awhile. The old neural pathways still exist. They don't disappear. You just need to retrain your brain EVERY time that a certain response to a certain fear is just as satisfying at making you feel safe and calm. Which isn't always easy to do. But it is possible to utilize your new neural pathways more often than not. You may find that you can go for months and months relying on new neural pathways and still find yourself back at the drawing board. In some ways, the behavior is similar to an addiction. You feel good--better than good--great, when you engage in whatever behavior that eases your trigger-fear. So it's important that you choose a new behavior that truly eases your fear but at the same time, isn't detrimental to your person physically, emotionally, financially, professionally, or personally.
Finding your trigger-fears may be one of the most important things you do for not only yourself, but your family, your friends and the rest of humanity. Such fears are the root of not only our own misery, but the miseries of the world. As humans, we're born with a fear of falling. Start there. You may be afraid to fall professionally or personally. You may be afraid to fall as a parent. You may be afraid that you'll fall in life and never get back up again. We take the power of that primal fear for granted. It's easier to do than than facing it.
But just remember, ignorance is the CHOICE of the apathetic. Our lives are driven by our choices, even those we choose not to be aware of.
Until next time, dearest readers. Remember, trigger-happy is a state of mind....
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