A dear friend shared the concept of glimmers versus triggers with me a few days ago, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Apparently, this has also “gone viral” on TikTok which I don’t have, so it was a new idea to me! The main difference between glimmers and triggers is that the former trains our nervous system to orient to positive, while the latter orients us to negative. As human beings, we are drawn to the negative because it is a survival mechanism that has been ingrained in us from our hunter-gatherer ancestors. So, training ourselves to notice glimmers is a practice that requires focus.
The beautiful thing about glimmers is that they are small, often insignificant moments we experience during a regular day like a relaxing hot shower, or sunshine through trees in the fall that sets off their color. The joy that we experience in these micro moments imprints our para-sympathetic nervous system. As we seek and celebrate small gifts in our day, we begin to see more and more. Rather than looking out for danger, we start to look for beauty. Instead of feeling angry or scared, we start to feel happy and peaceful.
The practice of seeking glimmers requires mindfulness – we must be completely in the moment, or we will miss it. Over the last few weeks, I have helped clients navigate through a few tough transactions and some of these started to leave unwelcome residue in my head and heart. When my brain started spinning creating anxious 3 a.m. wake up calls, I willed myself to look for moments of peace and ease. I am here to tell you that this works! It doesn’t make these unpleasant moments disappear, but I don’t linger on them, and that makes all the difference.
I am curious -if you had a choice, would you choose positivity over negativity, calm over anxiety and joy over anger, or the opposite? Is this “glimmer seeking” something you already do without knowing it? If not, I encourage you to try this practice for 7 days and see how you feel. I’d love to hear about your experience!
