When was the last time you were triggered? 🤯

And how did you respond?

Did you...

• Turn to comfort food
• Binge on your favorite sheet cake
• Worry and ruminate
• Smoke
• Go shopping
• Have a glass of wine or two to decompress
• Binge watch your favorite new show on Netflix
• Lie awake at night

Chances are... when you did this, there was probably some immediate comfort, like the reward of the dopamine hit we get from eating.  (And surprisingly, worrying also causes the release of dopamine.) 

Maybe you were able to numb or take the edge off of some intense emotions, or at least distract yourself for awhile.

Unfortunately, when you look at the ripple effects – the longer term – what is happening?

Feelings of guilt and shame.  Unwanted weight gain. Chronic sleep deprivation. Nagging self-doubt. And perhaps looming health issues.

As a matter of fact, earlier this month, in a study published in the JAMA Psychiatry journal, it appears stress, anxiety and depression may increase the risk of long Covid.

Now one thing you may not have realized is this...

Trigger + Coping Mechanism + Reward is the definition of a habit.

Which means all of the things I listed above - emotional eating, retail therapy, binging, having a glass of wine, even worrying - are just habits...

Like drinking your morning coffee.

And habits can be changed when we master our triggers.

As a matter of fact, triggers are like superpowers.

They can be used for good, too.

You can actually use triggers to create new self-care habits.

And the ripple effects of these habits include better sleep, less chronic stress, and deep health.

Which is why...

Mastering Your Triggers Is The Most Effective Way To Create Deep Health.

Deep health sounds amazing, doesn't it?!

So now let's delve into what you need to master your triggers.

Let's start with a working definition...

What is a trigger?

It's simply the start of a habit.  It's what gets the ball rolling.

In the book, "The Power of Habit," by Charles Duhigg, the basic habit loop consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward.

A cue is the trigger, and there are 5 primary trigger categories:

• Time
• Location
• Preceding Event
• Emotional State
• Other People

When it comes to mastering your triggers, of particular importance is our 8th sense, known as interoception.

Interception is our awareness of what's going on inside our body.

So that can be the signal that you're thirsty or you're hungry.

By the way, we often confuse these two.

It's also the ability to sense your breathing.

Are you breathing fast, slow, shallow, deep?

How fast your heart is beating?

Pain, cold, nauseous, in need of the bathroom, tense, itchy, 😜 horny, tired, sleepy, etc.

As adults, we often ignore these signals until they are the equivalent of a 4-alarm fire.

Not resting when we're tired, until we get sick.

Not eating when we're hungry, until we have a headache, are low on energy, or seriously hangry.

Not stopping when we're comfortably full, but relying a calorie count or the number of points.

Awareness

Becoming aware of the trigger is a vital first step.

This is what is prompting or sparking the routine. In many cases, a trigger can simply feel like an urge.

Awareness is vital because it gives you the opportunity to make a conscious choice, which is required if you want to change or create a habit.

Becoming attuned to it is the next step.

Attunement

This means understanding and accurately interpreting what it means so you can decide how you want to respond.

It's not just the awareness, but the awareness of like the strength of the signal.

So when you become aware of your stomach growling and you notice your energy level has dipped, maybe you're feeling a little cold, attunement may interpret this as hunger.

Attunement also asks the question, "How hungry am I?"

So attunement would be recognizing the signals in your body and being able to interpret them correctly.

Alignment

This is when we decide to respond - as in take action - that aligns our short-term goals (like stress relief) with our long-term goals (for example, feeling healthy and fit).

For example, when you notice that you're comfortably full and satisfied, you have no trouble stopping.

This would be alignment.

So the reward of eating until you're comfortably full, when you get used to that sensation, when you tune into that, that's actually a beautiful feeling to be able to recognize...

Because then you can simply go about the rest of your day.

Empowering Thoughts

Back in my early 30s, I was introduced to this wonderful tool, The Learning Cycle. This is how you'll master your triggers.

In any situation, you've got all these inputs into our brain...

Shen you look at the clock and see the big hand and little pointing to the 12, and the sun is shining outside, you may say, "Hey, it's lunchtime."

That's a thought.

The situation is that it's 12 noon.  This is a fact.

"It's lunchtime" is a belief... if you've been taught that when it's noon, that's when we're supposed to eat lunch.

We actually do not have direct access to reality.  We all perceive reality based on the signals our brains receive and pay attention to...

There's always a filter.

Your mental models, based on past experiences, are a filter. Your beliefs are a filter.

And you use these filters to interpret... "What does this mean? What should I do?  What does it mean about me?"

So again, if you saw clock and said to yourself, "Oh, it's lunchtime. Time to take a break and eat something," with a smile.

That last sentence is an interpretation.

And the smile that follows reflects a positive emotion - and if you honor your hunger and go to lunch with friends and colleagues...

The rewards of rest and socializing complete the habit loop... 

And we have interoceptive alignment.

Notice, it's attunement that drives your response.

If you can't recognize that you are hungry until you're hangry...

Or someone who knows you well has to ask, "When was the last time you ate?"

We want to work on awareness and attunement first.

Sometimes it can be as simple as setting an alarm on your phone to check-in with yourself.

Again, as adults, we may be ignoring our body's signals, but make no mistake, they are there.

And, as an infant, you were already a master.

So the good news is... you already know how to do this.

You can reclaim it.

And this is exactly why I created The Moxie Project.

✨ 7-9 hours of 😴 sleep

✨ 1/2 your body weight in ounces of 💧 water

✨ 5 servings of 🥦 🍊 veggies and fruit

✨ eating until your comfortably full (+4 on the hunger scale)

✨ 30 minutes of mindful 🏃🏻‍♀️ 🏋️‍♀️ movement

A Sneak Peek Inside The Program

BONUS #1 - Nail Your Why

When you know your compelling WHY, you'll create "unbreakable" motivation so that you can tap into your willpower and stay on track.

BONUS #2 - Dieting Detox

We're uncovering the dieting rules and other self-limiting thoughts that have undermined your past efforts, freeing up your energy to creating the healthy habits for deep health.

BONUS #3 - Joyful Eating

Just in time for the holidays! 😉 It's time to embrace the pleasure and satisfaction that can be found in the eating experience. When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting, with friends and family, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content.