Many things in life push our buttons – leaving us feeling angry, anxious, or perhaps defeated. And we’re tempted to blow up, run away, or cave in during such moments. We must learn to keep a cool head and a calm heart to keep making the next best decision.
For instance, someone criticizes our work without even giving us a fair chance. Or maybe they’re projecting their desires onto us while missing our heart in the meantime. It might also be the case that our worth and capabilities are called into question.
Whatever it looks like, our button has been push and we’re ready to defend ourselves and possibly go on the attack. While understandable, this typically just makes matters worse. We generally don’t make the best decisions when our thoughts are not clear and our emotions are getting the best of us.
The wise approach is to practice keeping a cool head and calm heart.
This means allowing ourselves the time to process our thoughts and better understand our current position. To be sure, it’s not pleasant to be triggered and often things can be presented in a better way. But is there truth in what was presented that should be considered all the same?
Quieting our mind gives us the space to thoughtfully make these considerations and hopefully see a bit clearer our path forward.
And the same is true in learning to soothe our emotional bruises. While we might feel some sort of way in response to the trigger, we don’t have to let our emotions run away with us. This is honoring our emotions but not letting them drive our actions and decisions.
We’re prone to make many regrettable decisions when we don’t handle triggers and our inner world well.
In the end, life will push your buttons many times over. Learn to live with a cool head and a calm heart to continue making wise decisions moving forward. This blesses you and all those around as well.
Photo by Ante Hamersmit on Unsplash
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