The True Peace Journal
Insights for Healing, Growth, and Self-Worth
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What Triggered Actually Means
What does it mean to be triggered? You’re out with friends, feeling light, happy, and full of life. Suddenly, it’s hard to breathe. Your feet feel unsteady. Your mind is both racing and blank at the same time. You have no idea what has changed, but you are on edge, unsettled, and tense.
You want to tell someone about the experience, but you keep silent. You’re afraid that they would tell you that you’re being too sensitive, and getting upset over nothing. After all, you can’t even explain what triggered you. One moment you were fine, the next you were not. How does that make sense?
Still, you can’t shake the memory. It was an intense, full-body takeover. It makes you wonder, “What does being triggered actually mean?”
Blame vs. Responsibility: Empower Yourself Through a New Mindset
You have recognized that the blame mindset feels safe, but it ultimately leads to loneliness. It is time to shift into the responsibility mindset. A part of you may feel excited at the prospect of a stronger sense of self and healthier relationships. Another part may feel disheartened at the prospect of more personal work. It is okay to feel tired, but remember: recognizing the need for change doesn’t mean that you are broken. It means that you are growing, and that is admirable.
Shifting your mindset requires effort upfront, and that effort is often what stops people. Instead of trying to change everything at once, make the change little by little. Start by envisioning what a responsibility mindset will feel like, and the rest will follow.
Blame vs. Responsibility: Why Fault is Never the Point
“It’s not my fault!” I don’t know what “it” is, but I do know that most of us at some point in our lives have had this thought. Generally speaking, the question of blame and fault arises when we are in conflict with someone we care about.
Getting stuck in a blame mindset feels awful. You feel angry at the other for letting you down, and at the same time you may be questioning whether the fault is with you instead. “Am I wrong?” you might text a friend, after a lengthy explanation of the conflict. At the same time, you are inwardly fuming about how you have been wronged. It is confusing, exhausting, and worst of all, with a blame mindset, the conflict never gets resolved; it just gets swept under the rug (eventually).
The longer this pattern continues, the more connection erodes.
In this post, we’ll explore why people tend toward a blame mindset, and what they can do instead.
How to Be Resilient
What do you think of when you hear the term “Resilient” or “Resilience”? Some people think of resilience as the same thing as strength, willpower and determination. “Eye of the Tiger” runs through their mind as they envision a person who grits their teeth and powers...
AI is Not Therapy – Reasons Why An AI Chatbot Can Do More Harm Than Good
AI Chatbots are seeing wide adoption, with 900 Million weekly active users, it feels like more and more people are feeling comfortable with incorporating this tool into every aspect of their daily lives. Increasingly, I've been hearing stories of people using an AI...
Personal Accountability: Practical Steps to Transform Your Life
If you are in a season for change, you may be asking yourself “How do I become more accountable?”
In today’s post, I answer that question by providing practical steps to build personal accountability in your life.