Triggers

Merriam Webster definition of the word triggered:
A
: occurring in response to a stimulus typically perceived as negative or harmful
Triggered reactions can be intense and unpleasant, and may even overtake our consciousness, as with a flashback experienced by a war veteran.—Kate Manne
As the body moves quickly, the heart rate and breath speed up, which also occurs during a triggered “fight or flight” reaction.—Lindsey Pearson
B
: caused to feel an intense and usually negative emotional reaction : affected by an emotional trigger
Triggered people often feel guilt or anger at themselves afterwards, so don’t contribute to that cycle of thought.

These are the common things we think of when someone says they have been triggered. Typically people try to stay away from the situation that would support this type of stimuli. But what if you started looking for positive triggers?
For instance, I am always triggered to start rearranging furniture when I watch a home design show. Or if I watch a show on hoarders, that triggers me to look around the house and clean things up or throw things away. I don’t get stressed often but when I do, my house suddenly becomes the cleanest house on the block thanks to that stress trigger.

What triggers you for the positive? When you are alone and you hear your favorite energetic song? Are you triggered to dance because no one is watching? What if we started thinking differently and started paying more attention to the positive triggers that motivate us or move us in a good way? In a world filled with focus on the negative, try taking some of the negative definitions for different situations and see if you can change the way you view them and find the positive within them. There is always something good to find if we open our eyes and look for the positive. And, you might just walk away with a clean house. Can’t hurt right?