Taming your triggers

Triggers.

Everyone has them - and they’re not all bad.

For example, when I smell rich dark chocolate, like that of a Sacher Torte, it brings me back to my childhood in Austria.

But many triggers can be dangerous to us and the people around us.

When someone encounters an emotional trigger, it can lead to a rapid and intense response, often without conscious thought or control.

We usually regret our actions after we’ve been triggered and wish we had taken just a few more seconds to have responded thoughtfully and appropriately.

Understanding our triggers is the first step in conquering them.

Which brings me to Andreas, a former client of mine who was kind enough to let me share his story.

Andreas and I met during an extremely high-pressure time in his life, both professionally and personally.

He is a co-founder of Podimo, an popular platform for both podcast and audiobook lovers.

When we began working together, he was going through a stressful funding round while COVID was still raging.

Andreas felt that he wasn’t really getting the best out of himself in either his work or home life.

Ultimately, he needed to get to a calm place.

We started with finding some simple ways of learning to meditate and added micro physical exercises he could insert into his day.

Once this foundation was in place, we developed strategies for being better equipped to handle work stresses, which included some personal brand augmentation and repositioning.

Here’s what Andreas had to say when we were done:

Peter has been instrumental in helping me gain a healthy perspective on work/life balance and identifying my stress triggers.

I learned new coping mechanisms, ways to center myself, gained ideas on how to handle conflicts, and much more.

Thank you, Andreas - both for your partnership and kind words!