Free The Practicing Mind: Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life by Thomas M. Sterner Page B

new one that you have chosen. One of the functions of a trigger is to stop the flow of your emotional response to a situation and bring you into a present-moment, nonjudgmental posture so that you can be in control of your actions. The trigger jolts you into awareness and reminds you it’s time to commit to the process you have already decided upon. The trigger is a very simple signal to yourself.
    To give an example of a trigger in sports, I work with a lot of junior golfers, many of whom play in weekly tournaments. Before we identify a trigger, we first create what is known as a preshot routine. Its main purpose is to increase their shot consistency by keeping them separate from the emotions of the situation, such as “I need to hit a good shot here or I’ll lose the match,” or “I can’t believe I missed that put on the last hole. I hope I don’t miss the next one.” The preshot routine shapes a stressful situation into a comfortable, objective one in which the golfer says, “This is what I need to do, so here I go.” That’s it; no big deal.
    In the preshot routine, the golfers first gather data about what they want to accomplish. This is done veryacademically, away from the ball and ideally with no emotions. The golfers discuss which goals they want to reach, and how they can accomplish them. If you’ve ever watched professional golf on TV, you’ve seen this discussion occurring between players and their caddies, but in the junior golf world, generally, there are no caddies, and the discussion is a dialogue each golfer holds with herself. Let’s apply this to our workplace scenario mentioned earlier. Say to yourself, “Every time my coworker makes an irritating remark, I tend to react in a negative way, and this is not serving me well. So when this situation occurs again, I need to take a different action.”
    This new action is the one that you want to habitualize. We must acknowledge here that emotionally laden encounters are among the most challenging ones in which to create new habits of response, because the old habits we want to change arise out of the emotions we immediately experience. Those emotions will still exist no matter what we do, so we need to get out ahead of them, if possible, so that we can consciously choose what to do next. Golfers actually practice preshot routines on their own over and over again until the routines are so natural and comfortable that they become a place to mentally retreat when the golfers feel they are in very stressful positions.
    You can create a “preshot” routine that functions in the same way for our workplace scenario, too. You decide on the reaction you want to execute in the safety and unemotional state of a nonjudgmental frame of mind. Inthat state, you are fully objective and make choices and decisions without mental or emotional clutter. As with the golfer, it is not a bad idea to practice your response: Imagine your coworker barking at you for no reason or saying something that is totally uncalled for. Now envision him in your mind as having no power over you. Observe him with almost detached amusement as you calmly decide how you will respond.
    However, as I said, we still need our trigger. It will enable us to start the routines we have so craftily designed and practiced. Such is the case for the golfers. They can gather data and make decisions, but sooner or later they have to step into the playing box, where it all counts. They still have to hit the shot. This is where the trigger comes in. It’s a simple movement that reminds the golfer to start the routine. It could be said it serves to say “let’s get this party started.” If you watch carefully for triggers, you will see golfers’ subtle motions, such as tugging on the shoulders of their shirts, pulling on their earlobes, or spinning the golf club in their hands. These are all examples of the trigger for that golfer that says “my routine starts now .”
    Let’s return to the