Let’s take a cheeky and not-oft to be repeated peak behind the scenes into domestic life at Casa Grundy.

In particular, one or two things which Lauren enjoys but which has the unfortunate effect of getting me all riled up.

And yes, even triggered.

One of them is music.

Lauren is a musical maestro.  She’s a dab hand at the violin & piano and she can warble a mean tune.  But Lauren also has the strident habit of playing music throughout Casa Grundy morning, noon & night.

Doesn’t matter if she’s heading out to see her pals, cooking a curry or getting ready for work – when she’s doing her thing, the music comes on.

And I have to come clean. Sometimes the music gets me really agitated. 

Is that normal?

No

Is it irrational?

Yes

But that’s how being triggered works. 

It’s the sort of thing that the majority wouldn’t bat an eye-lid at, yet for 1% or 0.1% of people is the most frustrating, annoying, aggravating and downright triggering action anyone can do.

Now here’s the thing:

When the music is on, I can see Lauren come alive.  There’s a big smile on her face and she’s completely in the zone with whatever tune she’s playing.

(Muse is a current favourite – feels like scratching my eardrums with a pair of metal chopsticks and even thinking about Muse’s thumping beats right now is sending a shiver down my spine)

Clearly I want Lauren to be in her groove like this.

So it probably won’t surprise you to hear that being musically triggered is something I’ve had a good ol’ think about.

(not when Muse are playing – got to be able to hear myself think)

And here’s something I’ve realised which has given me a bit of a new perspective on being triggered:

On some level, it looks to me like I can only be okay (or even happy – I’d go that far) when certain conditions are being met.

Thing is, I know enough by now to recognise that being happy isn’t dependent on what’s happening around me.  Even though blaring music is an exception to this principle.

But I also know that principles don’t have exceptions.  Principles are just true. 

Which means there’s more for me to see here.

Not just on music but on ALL the conditions I have around my own happiness.  The more of these I can see and get under the skin of, the happier I’ll be.

And that’s what I’m shooting for.

Incidentally, that’s part of the reason I wrote this email. 

One route to seeing more is getting my thoughts down, piecing them together in a semi-readable manner and then pinging them into the wild to get reactions, comments or ideas back from you, my readers.

Another route is through coaching - both coaching other people and being coached myself.

Coaching is such rich, fertile territory for seeing deeper & more clearly that it’s almost like finding a new treasure chest each & every time it takes place.

If you’d like to read more about the coaching I offer:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

That’s all for today.

 - Tom