Shun What Triggers You
Marcus Aurelius never had to mute a WhatsApp group.
Epictetus never had a TikTok algorithm learning his insecurities.
Buddha definitely didn’t start his mornings doom-scrolling the news.
And Lao Tzu? If someone had handed him a smartphone, he probably would’ve walked quietly back into the mountains and left it on airplane mode forever.
These great thinkers were spared the relentless information overload of modern life. No 24/7 news cycle. No social media feeds engineered to provoke. No constant stream of opinions, gossip, drama, or “breaking news” that is neither breaking nor news. In some ways, they had it easier. In other ways, the human mind has always been vulnerable to disturbance and reactivity — it’s just that the provocations were slower, simpler, and less algorithmically weaponised.
But whether in the marketplaces of ancient Athens or the push notifications of today, one truth has remained unchanged: an undisciplined mind is easily triggered, and a triggered mind loses its sovereignty.
And that’s where the wisdom of these ancient teachers still lands like a well-timed breath:
preserve your equanimity at all costs.
The Common Thread: Calm Mind, Clear Life
Across Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, and early Greek philosophy, one principle appears again and again:
The person who can remain calm, impartial, steady, and unprovoked is the person who is free.
Not free from pain or challenges — but free from unnecessary suffering.
Free from being tossed around by every opinion, every emotion, every headline, every digital stimulus.
Free from the compulsive reactivity that drains energy, distorts thinking, and damages relationships.
Marcus Aurelius spoke of guarding the mind like a fortress.
Epictetus insisted that our emotional disturbances come not from events but from our judgments.
Buddha taught the cessation of suffering through awareness and skilful disengagement.
Lao Tzu urged us to “do by not doing” — a poetic reminder that sometimes the most powerful action is not to participate.
In today’s world, this shared wisdom takes on an almost urgent relevance. Because the triggers are no longer occasional — they are everywhere, all the time, on every device, in every room, in every pocket.
Which is why one practice stands out as both ancient and incredibly modern:
Shun What Triggers You (On Purpose)
Now let’s be honest: the phrase “shunning what triggers you” can sound a little dramatic — like retreating to a cave, growing a long beard, and living off berries and introspection.
But in reality, it’s astonishingly simple and wildly effective. This isn’t about shrinking your life — it’s about choosing the conditions under which you meet it.
It means:
Proactively turn your mind away from the things that provoke it.
Not in denial.
Not in avoidance.
Not in fear.
But in service of your own mental clarity.
If the Twitter (X) feed spikes your anxiety, close it.
If the Instagram Reels rabbit hole leaves you comparing and despairing, step away.
If the evening news reliably makes your heart rate jump, don’t invite it into your lounge room.
If discussing politics with colleagues turns you into the Hulk, politely bow out.
If the lifestyle choices of a family member trigger your inner commentator, practice the revolutionary act of shutting up and letting them live.
This isn’t weakness.
This isn’t sticking your head in the sand.
This isn’t fragility.
This is self-preservation, self-kindness, and strong will disguised as quiet decisions.
You’re not abandoning the world — you’re filtering what has permission to influence your state of being.
And that is powerful.
Why This Works (Especially Today)
Modern triggers hijack dopamine, distort attention, and erode emotional bandwidth.
Every swipe, ping, headline, and argument pulls mental energy away from what actually matters.
By intentionally removing stimulus that destabilises you, you’re doing several things at once:
You reclaim your internal environment.
Instead of being emotionally yanked around, you restore your steadiness.You reduce unnecessary arousal.
The nervous system cools down. Cortisol eases. Your thinking becomes clearer.You become less reactive and more responsive.
And this is where your best qualities — patience, kindness, discernment, restraint — can finally breathe.You cultivate mental spaciousness.
A mind with fewer triggers becomes a mind where wisdom can actually land.You signal to yourself that your wellbeing matters.
Each act of shunning is an act of self-respect.
This isn’t escapism.
It’s curation.
And if the world can curate your feed, you are certainly allowed to curate your mind.
The Beautiful Side Effect: Your Sensitivity Shifts
Here’s the part most people miss:
When you start shunning the obvious triggers (social media arguments, inflammatory news, pointless debates), something interesting happens…
You begin to notice the subtle triggers.
The small frictions.
The tiny irritations you were too overstimulated to detect before.
A sigh of impatience.
A sarcastic comment.
A moment of envy.
A habitual defensiveness.
As your baseline becomes calmer, your awareness becomes sharper.
And this allows you to begin filtering out even more mental noise — including the noise you didn’t even know was running in the background.
This incremental refinement is how equanimity is built.
Quietly.
Gradually.
Choice by choice.
Micro-moment by micro-moment.
In time, you’re not just shunning triggers — you’re dissolving the habit of being triggered in the first place.
That is profound.
And here’s the deeper truth — this reclamation of equanimity isn’t just a “nice state to be in.” It changes your mental health at a foundational level.
When the mind is less reactive, the nervous system spends far less time in fight-or-flight. Stress hormones settle. Rumination quietens. You stop defaulting to the old self-soothing behaviours — overeating, over-drinking, scrolling to numb, consuming to pacify — because the trigger cycle that once led you there is no longer in control.
Equanimity gives you back choice.
And with choice comes the ability to lean toward virtue instead of vice.
You respond instead of react.
You pause instead of implode.
You sleep better because your mind isn’t in a nightly wrestling match with the day.
You become the steward of your impulses rather than their hostage.
A regulated mind creates a regulated nervous system — and from there, better sleep, steadier energy, clearer training decisions, and fewer self-sabotaging habits.
You’re Stacking the Deck of Tranquillity in Your Favour
Every time you say:
“I’m not watching that.”
“I’m not clicking that.”
“I’m not joining that argument.”
“I’m not inviting that energy into my day.”
…you make a tiny deposit into the bank account of inner stability.
This is how you stack the deck.
Not with one heroic act, but with countless small ones.
With each choice, the mind becomes less reactive and more impartial.
With each act of restraint, your emotional landscape becomes more peaceful.
With each moment of disengagement, you gain more control over your state of being.
This practice won’t turn you into a monk (unless you’re into that).
But it will make you far less rattled by life’s chaos.
And from that place?
Your relationships improve.
Your decision-making sharpens.
Your creativity rises.
Your anxiety softens.
Your energy stabilises.
Your worldview becomes clearer — and kinder.
Equanimity Is a Skill, Not a Trait
Epictetus wasn’t born calm.
Buddha wasn’t born enlightened.
Marcus Aurelius wasn’t born stoic.
They all trained their minds.
They practiced.
They reflected.
They removed unnecessary disturbances.
They stepped back from noise and leaned into clarity.
And they taught us that equanimity is something you cultivate, not something you inherit.
In our era of constant stimulation, this ancient skill is not just relevant — it’s essential.
Not to escape the world.
But to meet the world with steadiness.
To participate with clarity.
To live deliberately, not reactively.
To protect the mind that has to carry you through every moment of your life.
Final Thought
Walking away from what triggers you is not surrender.
It’s sovereignty.
When you reduce unnecessary noise, you amplify your own intelligence.
When you curate your inputs, you reclaim your outputs.
When you choose what influences your mind, you shape the quality of your entire life.
Equanimity isn’t found in a monastery.
It’s found in the simple, daily decision to stop letting the world yank on the strings of your nervous system.
Turn away from what provokes you.
Turn toward what grounds you.
And watch how the inner life transforms — quietly at first, then profoundly.
If you’re serious about ageing powerfully, start here — not with optimisation, but with subtraction.
— Luke
Vita Vitality