Vivid Views is my series of articles, blog posts and press releases show-casing my work as an author and reflecting my many years in business and self-employment. They are a blend of my real life experiences, professional insights, personal views and fun stories.
My hope is that in them you find enlightenment and inspiration. 'A Well Oiled Trigger' is the 7th in the series.
One of the very first words I was taught in French class at school was the word élève. In English it means pupil, as in 'a school pupil'. So the word was rather appropriate in that context but that is not the sole reason that we were introduced to it early on. No, the greater purpose of our learning it was to introduce us to the accents common in the French language. In this case the acute, which tops the first letter e, and the grave which tops the second e.
More so than just an introduction to the accents, it was taught as a way of remembering them. Remember the word and you remember the accents, their names and which is which. Acute comes before grave alphabetically, phonetically (the way they sound) and visually, they point in towards each other. So, remembering the word élève triggers your memory in these respects. It is planted in your mind as a trigger.
And triggers are preludes not just to memory recall but to all kinds of actions. Most golfers for instance, use a trigger movement to initiate their swing. They give no conscious thought to the swing and its various elements once in play on the course; these have been ingrained in their subconscious through constant practice. In competition they concentrate just on the trigger, then the rest follows naturally.
In my suit and tie wearing days in business I did likewise. I planned, prepared and practiced my presentations meticulously then, when the time to 'perform' arrived, I straightened my tie and said an inward “It's showtime!” as I entered the meeting. That was my trigger – straightening my tie and repeating my simple line of encouragement. With that done I made no conscious effort to recall what I had to say or do. I just relaxed and enjoyed the moment. It worked like clockwork.
A trigger movement, thought or words removes anxiety from your action and allows you to give every situation your best shot. So be sure that your preparation is thorough and complete then, when you 'pull' your chosen trigger, it will initiate a smooth 'swing' to whatever endeavour or performance you are undertaking. A well oiled trigger will serve you well.
I am Tom Riach. I live and write in the sunny south of Portugal.
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A WELL OILED TRIGGER is an original copyright Tom Riach feature.
I hope you enjoyed this Vivid View and found it to be of value.
To learn more please visit me on my Author Page.
See you there! Regards, Tom.
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