Triggers Book Summary

Triggers Book Summary Preview

If you’ve ever struggled to change a behavior or break a habit, you know just how challenging it can be. Sometimes it can even feel like there is something more powerful than you are, breaking your discipline and pushing you towards the behavior or thing you promised yourself you wouldn’t do. Believe it or not, those things getting in the way of you reaching your goals are real. They’re called triggers, and they might be influencing you more than you think. Marshall Goldsmith, author of Triggers, realized that he too was being unconsciously triggered by his environment while he was getting a haircut. The hairstylist cut the hair on top too short: and he realized that he had been cultivating a combover on his own head without realizing it. After pondering, he discovered he had felt triggered by his environment to appear more youthful than he actually was, and the combover helped him cope. That’s the thing about triggers: they’re mostly unconscious even though they can have a huge influence on our behavior. Read on to learn to make unconscious triggers conscious. Plus learn why your beliefs about change may be preventing it, how to get out of a never-ending behavior loop and how you can fix relationship trouble (and so many other things) by simply increasing your awareness! 

Your beliefs about change could be preventing it

People’s beliefs about changing their behavior can be a HUGE part of why they are not able to accomplish it. For instance, let's say you think making a change will be simple and permanent. That’s a positive outlook, right? Unfortunately, it prevents you from seeing how difficult change truly is, or how many steps you will need to take to implement it. This lack of awareness can lead to a lack of preparation, or impatience with yourself if you experience a setback. Another idea people often have is that they won’t give in to temptation because of willpower. That idea is also false. Willpower dwindles: it's simply not consistent enough. Denial is another common problem that can make changing difficult. If you don’t believe you have a problem, you don’t have to address it. Unfortunately, whether you believe it or not, the problem is still there. Many people don’t change because they refuse to acknowledge they need to. Once you become aware of these limiting beliefs, making change becomes possible… as long as you are aware of triggers.

What is a trigger?

So what exactly is a trigger? A trigger is a stimulus that causes someone to engage in a type of behavior. There are different kinds of triggers: internal, external, unconscious, or conscious, and many others. The thing they all have in common is that they occur in the environment and cause people to do things. The anniversary of the loss of a loved one could act as a trigger for depression: conversely, the anniversary of the death of a loathed foe could trigger happiness or glee. Triggers are important because they can heavily influence your...

Please login to access the full text and audio summary for FREE

Users get access to two FREE summaries. Become a pro user for unlimited access.

Login

Congrats! You've unlocked a 50% discount. Use coupon code WELCOME for 50% off Sumizeit Premium.

Save time with unlimited access to text, audio, and video summaries of the world's best-selling books.
Become a pro user