Triggers - An Interesting Concept

Roy Roger's horse was named Trigger, but that's not the subject of today's blog. The mechanism that begins the process of firing a gun is also called a trigger, but again, not the topic.

Psychologists refer to something as a trigger that causes an emotional response. It can be a word (or just a sound), a song, a picture, a smell - just about anything - that when experienced brings an immediate emotional response. The brain has indexed certain experiences by these triggers and performs immediate recall. It is almost involuntary the way we are moved by these triggers.

The reaction to a trigger is actually a habit. You may not even be aware you have the habit. Some habits are so "comfortable" or "natural" that they are not seen as habits. That's one reason habits are hard to break. Habits, however, are not all bad. The habit of waking at a certain time because the trigger (alarm clock) set off the morning routine can help start your day on a productive note.

As we approach the new year many begin to evaluate life to see if anything needs to change. Resolutions are made, and quickly broken, because the old habits do not yield to the new ones. It takes conscious effort to make a new GOOD habit.

Back to triggers. The habits that cause us the most problems are those brought on by triggers that we do not even recognize. Why do we have sudden outbursts of anger? Overwhelming sadness can come on us suddenly and we cannot seem to put our finger on the "why". Something has triggered the response. Identifying the trigger can help begin the change that is needed to thwart the undesirable behavior.

Sometimes it may require help from a professional counselor. I'm married to a really good one if you happen to be in the market. Many times we cannot see the pattern or habitual behavior that keeps us in a non-productive cycle.

A habit is made up of three components: trigger, action, reward. Yes, your habits are designed to bring a reward. The trigger and reward are usually not the problem. It's the actions we take in between the two that cause the problems. If we can identify the trigger, we can then alter the behavior (action) that follows, and still reap the reward afterward. We simply replace the action with something that will bring a good outcome instead of the destructive actions we normally choose.

Regardless of when you begin, it will require constant attention until one day you are simply doing the new action "habitually". That is the beginning of a new life. Not habit-free, but productive instead of destructive. Live well!