That’s right.
There you go.
I said it.
There is no such thing as a “trigger”.
You have never been ‘triggered’ and no-one has ever ‘triggered’ you.
“Triggers” simply do not exist.
How could I possibly say this?
Everyone in the world knows that there are people out there that “trigger us”, right? There are situations and things that “trigger us” to feel bad and trigger a biological or bio-mechanical response in us that makes us act like spoiled little children having a tantrum, right?
Well, no. I do not believe there is any such thing as a trigger.
Certainly not if a trigger is defined as “something that occurs outside of us that forces, makes or causes us think and feel in a certain way”.
In other words, by that definition, a trigger is a fancy, socially acceptable, culturally appropriate way of talking about “The Psychological Illusion”.
The idea that something outside of you causes your thinking and feeling is by definition, The Psychological Illusion.
It is completely illogical.
In order to justify the obvious flaws in this illogical idea, all kinds of spurious psychological theories and fantasies have been created… that often result in us having to hire psychologists, coaches and healers to ‘stop’ the triggers from getting to us. (It’s remarkably similar my 2 year old toddler wanting me to sit next to him at night in order to stop the ‘monsters’ from getting to him).
I’ve made a big claim here… so how do we know there are no triggers?
Because you can take any external event, no matter what it is… And it is completely possible that anyone could feel and think any number of different ways about that same event.
Even the person who claims to have been “triggered” knows that on a different day, that if the same so called “trigger” were to occur 100 times, it wouldn’t necessarily result in the same response 100 times.
If triggers existed, it would be literally impossible to respond in a different way. But we all know, out of common sense that sometimes a trigger occurs and we respond negatively. Other times we may respond negatively, but with a different negative thoughts and feeling and sometimes we may respond neutrally sometimes we may respond positively or in a completely unaffected way.
For example, if my father makes a mean comment towards me and I feel angry about it… did he ‘trigger’ my anger? He made the same comment yesterday and I laughed it off. A month later, he does it again and I cry myself to sleep. A couple of weeks later he does it again, and I feel sorry for him. Another time still, I’m totally unaffected and have a heart-to-heart conversation with him that brings us closer together.
Given that all these scenarios are possible and real and we’ve all had similar experiences with different relative or acquaintances… how does it make any sense to say that the ‘mean comment’ was the trigger, given that there were half a dozen different responses?
The point is not to try and work on the so called “triggers” and your responses to them. The point is to realise that triggers don’t actually exist. The moment this becomes clear to you, you are free from The Psychological Illusion and you will no longer allow your life to be limited by the events that occur around you.
It’s important to note I’m not saying that you “should not be” triggered. And I’m not saying that you should “train yourself” to not be affected by triggers.
I’m saying, on a level of principle, that there is no such thing as an external event causing or dictating your thinking and feeling.
I’m saying that your God given power of thought is absolutely greater than any external event no matter how extreme it may appear.
Another important note:
I’m also not saying we should stop using the word “trigger”. Or that we should use some kind of clever language to describe the so called “triggers”.
I’m saying that on a level of principle it is not the external event that is dictating your thinking and feeling. Believing external and past events dictate your thinking and feeling is a big problem. In fact, it is the source of all psychological problems.
This article may be turning into a bit of a rant, because let’s face it, these days anyone and everyone and their Auntie is talking about how “you triggered me” and “I feel triggered when you do that”, etc.
I’m not saying negative impolite, unethical, immoral words or behaviours are acceptable. They are obviously not. I am a believer, after all.
Rather, I’m saying that no negative event or behaviour, on a level of principle, has the power to dictate your thinking and feeling – as proven by the fact that on a different day when you’re in a different mood (i.e. you have different thinking), you won’t be affected by the same trigger.
That’s it for today.
If you want to free yourself from a whole array of popular psychological theories, mumbo-jumbo and nonsense… and clear your head so you can fulfil the real purpose you were put on this earth for, then talk with a Certified Switch Coach.
Go here to pull the trigger:
