Comments on: Creating a Trigger List and freaking out less

By: Sue Mitchell

Sue Mitchell — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:52:32 +0000

I’m a little late on this, but this info is timeless. This is a fantastic idea and you’ve described it so well.

One trigger I have is when someone I’m merely tolerating anyway puts me down. Or when someone is 100% sure their opinion is FACT when they don’t even know very much about something.

A mild-mannered person by nature, I could throw a brick through a wall when those things happen. The reaction is so automatic and intense that having a strategy to defuse it could really save me some headaches!

What’s interesting about this kind of awareness is that it really is enough on its own–you don’t necessarily need to comb through your childhood and figure out why this triggers you. Just naming the trigger helps take its power away.

I think it’s also really helpful to know the triggers of the people around you, to avoid getting your head bitten off.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:51:37 +0000

Yes, yes! “do I have a thing?”…I *adore* your description of your process.

(You are like, totally in my head. But way more articulate

By: Andrew Lightheart

Andrew Lightheart — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:06:02 +0000

Yay – ‘Do I have a Thing?’ works for someone else!

By: Kris B

Kris B — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:53:14 +0000

By the way, yes, “Do I have a Thing about this?” totally helps me cool down and connect at work and in community.

And yes, it’s a heck of a lot harder to identify those Things in the family setting.

Thanks for your blog. I subscribe via Google reader and look forward to your updates.