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How to Get a Grip on Your "Hot Buttons"

November 19th, 2007 @ 9:00 am

4 Comments

Categories: Business

Tags: Author, Button, What, Rick Broida

angry.jpgWhat sets you off? A co-worker who doesn’t refill the copier paper tray? A boss who cracks inappropriate jokes? Excessive memos in your inbox? According to Lifehack.org, everyone has “hot buttons”: sensitive spots that get triggered by events or circumstances. And if you succumb to emotion when those triggers get pulled, the results can be quite damaging.

So, how can you cool off your hot buttons? Take a mental “time out.” Breathe. Slow down. Of course, you won’t remember to do that unless you become more aware of the kinds of situations that make you instantly angry or upset. The author explains how to achieve this awareness.

My hot button is criticism of my work (hey, I’m a writer, it goes with the territory), but over time I’ve learned to not take it personally. Which is good, because it used to ruin my entire day. What’s your hot button? Come on, I shared… Now hit the Comments and do likewise. Photo by furryscaly.

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  •  
    1

    Lori Deschene

    11/19/07 | Report as spam

    My hot buttons

    Hello from Intercom! I almost blogged about this article. Since I didn't, here are my hot buttons:

    -I get annoyed when someone makes a big deal out of a situation that I perceive to be minor.
    -I hate when superiors offer conflicting feedback or information?or worse, when they offer feedback that they've clearly wanted to share for months but for some reason never did.
    -It bothers me when people take too long making coffee or looking for their food in the fridge. Really.

  •  
    2

    rgaweljr

    11/20/07 | Report as spam

    Hot Buttons

    My hot buttons are too numerous to mention, but I will pare it down to the critical few:
    1) It irritates the heck out of me when a fellow manager puts on a phony facade when a superior is in one of our meetings. Ugh, like it isn't completely transparent!!
    2) People who feel it is necessary to hit Reply All when saying Thanks.
    3)Back to back to back to back meetings. How can anyone get anything accomplished when you are in meetings all day?

  •  
    3

    nmanaloto

    11/20/07 | Report as spam

    Hot Buttons

    People who just continue to grip and whine about their work and not doing anything to improve their situation or provide a solution.

    People who thinks they have nothing else to learn and just know everything and the worst things is they flaunt it.

  •  
    4

    Sam Ross

    11/20/07 | Report as spam

    One of my many hot buttons...

    Why do people think forwarding crap counts as communication?

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  • Blogger Thumbnail Rick Broida A technology writer for more than 15 years, Rick Broida is a regular contributor to CNET, Popular Science, Wired and other publications. He's also the author of numerous books, including How to Do Everything with Your Zune. When he's not chained to his keyboard, he's usually shooting hoops or watching quality television. more »

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