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The Positive Power of the “Trigger”
If you have ever attended a live concert, you’ve experienced the power and excitement of a routine. You find your seat…there’s chatter all around you…the lights dim and the crowd goes wild. The announcer’s voice comes over the loudspeakers to welcome you and to give you some last-minute instructions and reminders. Then, the venue goes completely black. The sound from the crowd becomes deafening. Music suddenly blares through the speakers as the opening act starts the show. Once their set is done, the lights dim again and the crowd goes wild, anticipating the feature act to take the stage.
After one thing happens, it triggers what is going to happen next.
When we talk about ‘triggers’ in our everyday lives, it often refers to negative events. We talk about things “triggering” us or what “triggers” our stress or anxiety. We tend to focus a lot of our time and energy on those types of triggers, which can lead to making excuses or storytelling to ourselves about how this “always happens to me.”
But positive triggers can help you to accomplish anything. They help you go from one thing to another seamlessly; you know what’s coming next, just like in the concert example.
Routines rely on triggers. Positive reinforcement relies on triggers. Habits rely on triggers. Everything that you have ever accomplished in your…
