TRIGGERS - LIFE'S LESSONS & BREAK THROUGHS

What a great honour it is to be an Executive Contributor for BRAINZ. Digital Magazine, sharing my experience and wisdom, along with thought leaders and spiritual teachers from across the world. Create this article, Triggers – Life’s Lesson’s & Break Throughs, I share my perspective and insight on how triggers can show up in our lives, challenge us take over but most importantly how triggers can teach us life lessons, going on a deeper dive, experiencing break throughs that can inspire and empower people in this information technology age.

Author, Sportsman, Coach and Mentor with over 35 Years Experience: Born in Hull, UK, experiencing family difficulties and separation, I grew up in a children’s home from the aged of 6 to 15. Leaving school with no qualifications or direction, I got caught up in the negative influences of life on the streets. Fitness and sport instilled in me at school, a long distance runner and playing soccer-football, going to play into a men’s league, struggling to control my anger, constantly fighting, I was banned from playing. Demotivated I stopped running, soon losing my way, wrapped up in alcohol, drugs, crime and fighting, I lost my energy, my past catching up with me, feeling low I was experiencing depression. Reconnecting with long distance running, activating the senses, feeling energized, there was an internal conflict between my head and heart, going through a mental breakdown and an emotional breakthrough in 1985/86, I experienced a great awakening, connecting to the universal flow,  going on the journey from the head back to the heart.  Taking control, moving on to play semi-professional soccer-football at the age of 19, coaching in the UK, America and Australia, between the age of 20 and 24, caught up in the ecstasy of dance and drug culture, I experienced two more mental break downs and emotional breakthroughs, with my greatest shift boxing amateur and professional, I found my release, moving on from boxing to find my calling, working in a school for alternative learning, with youth experiencing emotional and challenging behaviour.

BoxWize + Brain Gym = Amazing Results: Integrating brain gym in to my BoxWize Skills System, I started teaching young people to switch both left and right base, crossing over the left and right brain hemispheres, switching on and tuning in, learning to control, release and channel emotional stress and physical energy positively. Getting amazing results I was soon working within mainstream schools, with youth projects, young offenders, professional athletes from premiership football-soccer, Great Britain rugby league, working with boxing world champions, supporting BoxWize within schools, with youth work, projects and events.

Over 28 Years Studying Stress – Human Biology, Behaviour – Human Technology: Studying stress, human biology and behavior for over 28 years, I created my concept human technology. Human biology, learning to understand how many of us a running our old reactive caveman software, running a belief system on our internal hard drive and operating system. Through fear, stress or past trauma, many of us can struggle to manage and deal with our thoughts and feelings, the ability to respond, responsibility, learning to process through our e-motions, energy in motion. Reaction – Caveman Software Freeze, Flight, Fight, Fawn: Whilst hunting to survive and feed the family, the caveman would experience the potential threat of the saber tooth tiger or woolly mammoth, experiencing fear and danger, triggering the amygdala reactive part of the brain, the caveman would experience Freeze: feeling overwhelmed, powerless and shutting down, consumed and shutting down he would get eaten up in the situation. Flight: the caveman would run and get away, avoiding the stress of dealing with the situation, living to hunt another day. Fight: the caveman would use aggression but could often lose control, caught in a fight for survival. Fawn: is a common reaction in today’s world, known as people pleasing, avoiding uncomfortable conversations, hiding behind our emotions, giving our power and control to appease a person, situation or an authority.

Human Technology – Switch On Tune In > Bright Response Software: More aware of stress, our human biology and behaviour, through exercise, movement, teaching my BoxWize Skills System, when you learn to switch on your human technology, activating our bright response software, emotional awareness and heart-mind intelligence, like transmitters and receivers, we can tune in, downloading, grounding and integrating new information and inspiration. The Laptop Analogy: The screen of a laptop is like our conscious mind and under the keyboard is our subconscious mind-body, running a program and belief system on our internal hard drive and operating system, many of us can be stuck in reactive patterns of behaviour. Getting a virus protection from external negative influences, learning to chuck out the trash, dealing with negative experiences and stress, we can release and recharge, detaching old patterns of behaviour, upgrading our bright response software. Develop character, inner strength and resilience, creating powerful and lasting change, taking on life’s challenges.

Triggers – Life’s Lessons and Break Throughs: Now we are more aware of stress and our old reactive caveman software, it’s fascinating to see how people perceive life’s triggers, ‘your triggered’, what’s your problem? when it can be a shared experience. ‘Your triggered’ when a heated conversation needs resolving. ‘Your triggered’, we need to stop fighting.  Don’t say what you feel, don’t express your emotions, keep your thoughts to yourself, keep quiet, hold it all in, just bury it and say no more. What I have come to learn is how important our triggers are, it’s how they show up, how our emotions can test us without taking over. How our emotions can be our great teachers, how the energy in motion can guide us, and when we learn to recognize reaction from response, we can go through the process, moving from the head back to the heart. Going Through Your Personal Battles: In a world where anger and aggression can drive our passion, in a time when you’ve got to have some fight, our triggers can fire us through life’s personal battles. The truth is, many of us have lost the fight and drive, asleep at the wheel, before you know it, your tires are flat and you’re going nowhere!. When we learn to become the observer, that we are not our thoughts, feelings and emotions, that it’s just a process. When we recognize the value and experience that triggers can bring in to our life’s, when we find the heart and the willingness to face the uncomfortable truth, embrace the charge, feel it through, triggers are life’s lessons and break throughs that allow us to learn, grow and release our true inner potential.

Trauma Triggers –The Wounded Child: A place I know well, trauma triggers, when we are deeply impacted by life’s circumstances, troubles and events, loss and grief. The wounded child stuck in the past, the emotional confusion, stories that can hold back our journey of healing and growth. The soldier lost at war, a veteran on an invisible battle field, experiencing PTSD, intrusive images and memories from the past, a trigger from a sound, a sensory activation. Trauma triggers in the moment that can take over, reactive mind loops reminding us to do our inner work, learning to process and detach old files on our internal hard drive and operating system. Triggers, subconscious drivers that can impact mental health, addiction to prescription medication, the quick fix and escape through alcohol and drugs. Broken relationships, separating families, leading to homelessness, with a mental health and addictions crises at an all-time high across the world today, with over a 150 million every month, looking for online solutions across the globe.

Parenting Triggers – Like The Wild Wild West!: There’s no doubt that being a parent in this technology information age can bring the many stressors and triggers. There’s no handbook or manual, just the influences, support and guidance around us. Through the external influences and drivers around us, access through phones and devices, our children are growing up in a world bombarded by the over stimulation, easy access and the potential negative influences of excessive technology, screen time, video gaming and meltdowns, reactive programming and social conditioning impacting behaviour. Parenting triggers, it can feel hands on, gun fire ready to implement tough love, boundaries, discipline, self-responsibility and respect, learning good values, learning the right way or the hard way. Guiding our children through the world of influence, distractions, temptations and chaos. Parenting, managing relationships and life, triggered we can get lost in the moment, like a gun fight at the O.K. Corral, bullets flying, a child caught in the cross fire, like the wild wild west, the pain and suffering can hit home. Experiencing separation, co-parenting, overtime we can learn to disarm, coming together, an observant child can go through the process, feeling the response – responsibility,  love and reconnection.

Trigger Traps – Dodging Bullets: Stuck in the entanglement of family dynamics, school or the work place. Growing up Lacking self-awareness, carrying our reactive patterns of behaviour, personalities, perspectives, stress, falling out, drama management, negative energy, emotional disconnect. Trapped in an environment, body language projecting, you can feel it, sense it, it’s in the air, an atmosphere and deadly silence. Dodging bullets, emotional triggers, frustration and anger like a shot of adrenaline, hit with cortisol, anxiety robbing your energy, taking you down. Now you can see the trigger traps, the challenge is to stay responsive, exercise emotional awareness, you can find a way through and a way out, learning to break free, you grow through the process.

Triggered, Fired Up For a Good Shoot Out: Sharing some different perspectives, managing the stressors and challenges in life, at home, education or in the work place, there can be a little friction in the kitchen and something is brewing!. Again, there’s something in the air, you can feel it, sense it, there’s a buildup driving you inside, a need to say something. Reactivity, body language, the look in the eyes, wrong choice of words, a slip of the tongue, the bullets are loaded, your triggered for a good shootout and it’s time to call it out. Get if off your chest, it’s better out than in, some harsh words firing in, the bullets hit a nerve, the truth can hurt, potential fallout and emotional damage that needs repairing. A heated and challenging conversation, testing emotional awareness, feeling it through we can experience wisdom, bringing good stuff to the surface, triggering an idea, co creating something, the feeling of accomplishment, sharing some new found perspective with somebody. Triggers in business, leadership, coaching and mentorship, triggers can be everywhere, coming with the challenge to not take it personal when there’s a conflict of the ego’s!. Learning to let go or holding on, unforgiving, it’s like taking a poison and expecting somebody else to suffer. 16 years of working as a doorman in pubs and club, when alcohol starts loading the bullets, a strong presence and good communication can disarm a potential shoot out or sometimes the triggers been pulled and you’ve got to manage the gun fight.

Pulling The Trigger – Hitting It Home: Sports, Coaching and Mentorship:  NHL Hockey: When emotions are running high, triggers in the moment, a release, an instant shoot out, an outburst or a good in your face swear fest. Often, like in NHL hockey, when there’s friction, that shot of adrenaline, when it’s time to go, pulling the trigger, the gloves are down and its game on, more often ending in respect and good sportsmanship. Playing semi-professional football-soccer back in my home city of Hull in the north of the UK, it was intense training on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Saturday afternoon it was game on. Working class lads, tough characters, competitive games played at high intensity, reputation on the line, it was physical, challenging and demanding, you was in the battle. Boxing amateur and professional it was next level, self-discipline, just you, your fear and drive, early morning runs and intense training. Sparring sessions that would hit hard, test your mindset, your heart and the gut check and how much did you want it. The big fight, fear of the unknown, into the ring, you’re ammunition loaded, you’re ready, ding ding the bell rings and it’s go time. In control, you’re in the moment, fired up, you’re in the battle, first to pull the trigger, you’re winning the war. Over the years and retiring from boxing, I would enjoy the challenge of training and coaching football-soccer teams. Becoming a coach, you got to get your soldiers ready, fire them up with a good team talk, then send them out to battle. Pulling the trigger, in the moment, calling out a situation, firing things up, hitting your point home, getting those big goals. Half time team talk, making those decisions, uncomfortable changes, coaching and mentoring different personalities, some players need a hug, some need a knuckle sandwich and words of encouragement, and some need that look in the eye, a truth bomb and a straight forward rocket up the jacksy!.

Triggered By Betrayal – Loading The Bullets With No Shame: Triggered by betrayal was a new for me. At a time in my life were betrayal could have taken over the wheel, taken me off track, hitting a major roadblock, a crash and burn moment in life, I would need to go deeper, do some inner work, get realizations and go through the process. I’ve always lived by a code of conduct, your word is your honour, an handshake, and that look of trust in the eyes always sealed the deal. So let me share my journey and process. Developing a relationship and going in to partnership, I could see somebody in a position of leadership, stuck in a company with a greater vision to build his brand and his own company. Bringing a lifetimes work and a wealth of wisdom, there was great potential to collaborate. A verbal agreement, investing in an immigration process, accessing a contract, a blind trust allowing financial control, years of investment, commitment and goals. Supporting the process,  his company stress, work load taking over, our partnership was flagging, commitment drifting and I could see the lack of energy, will and desire Unfortunately I was working with a brand that had become a side hustle with a big front, an ego booster to share at meetings and to carry on those corporate travels. Lack of communication, suspicious moves behind the scenes, flipping  the script to an employee in a minimum wage, using his company model that employing immigrants. Experiencing dirty tricks and dishonesty, money and trust is taken over by greed, temptation and opportunity too good to deny. End of a development phase in sight, calling for a meeting, finances and investment, I hear the words ‘It’s all over, there’s nothing left!, no meeting, no communication, cut off, left high and dry, now managing the stress to stay in Canada to be with my son.

 Preparing The Reactive Triggers, Looking for Ammunition to Use Against You: Trying to work things out, where’s the investment?, no communication, disconnect, trying to call out the truth, work things out was met with arrogance and ignorance all wrapped up in denial. The look in the eyes, no emotional investment, just a dead look of greed. Betrayal, was like loading the bullets with no shame, preparing the reactive triggers, looking for ammunition to use against me. Asking myself, was it desperation or was it just a privileged twat from a dog eat dog corporate world of competition, patterns of behaviour lacking truth and integrity. Managing that feeling of wanting to put somebody’s lights out, like back in time before the discipline of boxing, developing work and BoxWize,, staying in control was a great challenge. Searching for the truth, gathering proof and evidence, accessing a lawyer, accounts completed, it was clear to see. Caught in the act with an unwillingness to take responsibility, committed to the move, avoidance met with justifying lies, digging a deeper hole, betrayal is a tough one to get out of. So why did I attract this situation?, what’s the universe teaching me?, what do I need to learn?.

 Why Did I attract This Situation? What’s The Universe Teaching Me?, What Do I Need to Learn?. One thing I know for sure is when you seek the truth, your heart will always guide you through the process. Our human technology interconnected to the electromagnetic universal flow,  switched on and tuned in, thoughts electric, emotions magnetic, like frequencies, our bright response software, our hearts electromagnetic, like a transmitters and receivers. When we switch on and tune in, accessing universal downloads, using insight and intuition, grounding and integrating through the thoughts, feelings and emotions. Going deeper, experiencing an ocean of emotions, feeling through the energy is in motion, going on a deep dive through deception, the deep dive to find the treasure, emotions like teachers, experience teaches wizdom. Coming back to earth, taken for a ride but now back in the driving seat, hands on the wheel, my hearts passion driving you through, it’s time to leave the past behind. Moving on, moving from reaction to response, growing through the process, feeling inspired to share my perspective and insight. Writing this article, how life’s triggers can take us on a journey, teaching us valuable lessons, learning to do our inner work, going deeper, experiencing life’s great break throughs.

Has you can see, taking the road less travelled, over many years of learning, enduring the tough times and personal challenges, creating The EnergyWize University Of Life, my concept human technology, developing The BoxWize Skills System, established in 1997, still going strong, going online as a training system in 2026, 30 years in development in 2027.

You can check out Carl’s work at The EnergyWize University Of Life – energywize.ca

Co-creator of The Empower 2 Recover Foundation –  empower2recover.com /

Co-creator of The GRC Project – Global Recovery Community / globalrecoverycommunity.com