
Ever wonder why people or situations trigger you? In this episode, I show you how to turn your triggers into teachers, build unshakable confidence, and stop needing anyone’s approval but your own.
Loading summary
A
Hey, small wins Build momentum in your life and here's an easy one. You can now get more protein in with Starbucks Protein Cold Foams Add Protein cold foam to your iced or hot Starbucks drink. It adds up to 15 grams of protein in a grande beverage.
B
Starbucks Protein Cold foams come in tons.
A
Of flavors like chocolate, vanilla Matcha and.
B
The new banana flavor, but I like mine completely unflavored. It's the rich creamy texture that you already love from Starbucks cold foam and.
A
It tastes so good now with protein.
B
Or you can try one of their.
A
New protein cold foam drinks like Chocolate Cream Protein Cold Brew and I'm always trying to get more protein in my diet so it makes it very easy just to add this into mine. Try the new lineup of high protein beverages at Starbucks or add protein cold foam to your favorite drink.
B
Clarity leads to meaningful connections if and part of creating that clarity is knowing how to show up authentically and connect intentionally when dating.
A
Today's show is supported by Bumble, a.
B
Dating app that gives you the tools to express yourself, verify your profile and meet like minded people. With their advice hub and filters, dating can feel clearer and more meaningful. Try Bumble and take the first step to finding meaningful connections. Ready to meet someone?
A
Great.
B
Start your love story on Bumble.
A
The first few weeks of school are in the books. Now it's time to keep that momentum going. IXL helps kids stay confident and ahead of the curve. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning and it's used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the entire US. My best friend's wife, who is an ex school teacher, uses IXL for her two kids and says it is absolutely the best program that she's ever used for tutoring her children. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and the Mindset Mentor listeners get an exclusive 20% off of IXL membership when they sign up at ixl.commindsetmentor Visit ixl.commindsetMentor to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor Podcast. I am your host Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another podcast episode. And if you're out there and you want to get some text messages from me sporadically throughout the week. Tips and tricks to improve yourself in your life and you live in the US or Canada, text me right now. 512-580-9305 once again, 512-580-9305. Today we're going to be talking about the power of not reacting, how to control your emotions. Because if somebody bothers you, it's not actually their fault. It is your fault if you're bothered by somebody else. You need to learn to be impossible to offend. A person who is offended by other people's words or other people's action is a person who is not in control of their own body and their own mind. And so what you need to do is build yourself into someone who is unshakable, someone who is impossible to offend. Because when you are impossible to offend, you are fully in control of yourself. And so you have to understand if something bothers you, whether it's something that somebody does or something that somebody says, it owns you. And so when you look at being triggered, one of my favorite things is to be triggered. Not because I enjoy being triggered and I still get triggered. It is not. I don't anticipate ever getting to end in my life and just never being triggered again. But the reason why I like being triggered at this moment, and I used to hate it, is because it is a moment for me to learn about myself and where I am not free mentally. It's kind of like instead of a flaw, it's kind of like a flag. It's like, hey, Rob, here's a spotlight. This is the thing that you need to work on. It marks a spot in yourself where you're not free. When somebody else's words, or whatever it is that they did, gets under your skin, when their tone makes you pissed off, when you feel judged or you feel rejected or you feel dismissed, what you need to do is pause. Right there is an amazing place to be. Because right there, there is a part of you that believes them. Right there is a part of you that is triggered because it reminds you of something from your past that you have not healed. They are accidentally shining a spotlight on your insecurity. You're only triggered by someone when you believe what they say to be true. They have just shown you exactly where you don't trust yourself or that you don't think that you're good enough or that you still hate being talked down to because it reminds you of the way that your father spoke to you and you haven't healed that within yourself. So in this moment, even though you want to punch them in the face, you kind of need to just give them a high five and say, thank you. It is the universe coming to you through this person to show you where you need to work on yourself. And that right there is the biggest place where you're going to learn your entire life. It's better than any book. It's better than any conference. And even though I'm so glad that you're listening to this podcast, it is better than listening to this podcast, because that is the place where you are not free and where you are not healed. And that right there is where your life class begins. So you're not weak for being triggered. You're just kind of lost. And so what you want to do is when somebody gets to you in some sort of way, you've got to take a step back and you've got to stop being washed in the emotions. You've got to, like, take yourself out of the jar. Like I always say, when you take yourself out of the jar, if you're in the jar, you can't read the label. So you've got to take yourself out of the jar and look at it from, like, a third person and start to assess what's going on here. And, like, take a pen and paper and be like, what happened that pissed me off? What did I feel inside of my body? Like, what part of me did that hit? Where is that? Like, this thing that's going on triggering me and reminding me of something else. So, like, the example I gave a minute ago, somebody talks down to you, you don't like their tone. That's not them. That is something inside of you that's reminding you of someone from your past that you're still not healed from. So it might be like, I hate that tone, Or, I hate when someone talks down to me or talks down to someone that I love. Because you rewind back in time, you're like, because my dad used to talk to me and my mom that way. And you're like, whoa, this is something that I need to heal within myself. Not saying that's easy, but it is the place where we need to go back. Because most of the time, what you'll find is that you have this need to feel understood, or you have this fear of being rejected or a fear of not being good enough. Or, like, this leftover belief that you need to be approved by other people or that you're unlovable in some sort of way. And so what you want to do is you want to kind of like. Like, if you're trying to catch a butterfly inside of a net, you want to, like, catch it. You want to Name it and actually identify this thing. And that's where you begin to get separation from it, right? So you're no longer like inside of the trigger, you are observing the trigger. And then when you observe it, it's not running the show anymore and you've created distance from it. And when you create distance from it, you no longer feel as many emotions around it. So then what you need to do is you need to start working on trying to detach yourself from being understood or from being somebody who needs to be accepted or whatever it might be. If you're curious why most people stay bothered for years or even their entire lives, it's because they still feel a unconscious, deep seated feeling of, I need people to agree with me, I need people to validate me. I need people to say, you're right so that I feel better about who I am. That is a prison. If you are relying on other people to make you feel good, then you'll never be free because that always means that you need somebody else versus being able to make yourself feel good. So here's the truth. You don't need to be understood by anybody else in order to be valid. Like if someone doesn't get you, if you're not someone's cup of tea, let them not get you. If somebody feels deep down that they want to judge you, judge away. It doesn't matter if somebody talks behind your back. You can talk as much as you want to. Why? It's like farting in a cave. It does nothing to me. You're just, it's just sitting there. There it goes. You know somebody's talking behind your back. Oh, there it goes. No big deal. You don't really care. When you finally mature and become a real adult is when your sense of self is no longer requiring anyone else's confirmation or agreement to make you feel like who you are is okay. Which is hard because we were raised to want to be attached and have a loving attachment to our parents. And so we learned to kind of mold and shift who we are to get their love. So now as adults, a lot of people mold and shift themselves to get other people's love. The true healing is when you don't need anybody else. You can choose other people and you can choose to want to be in a relationship, but you want to be so full that you don't need anybody. That's true power. That's why I hate when people are like, oh, this is my better half. Like, you don't wanna be 50, 50 in a relationship. You want to be 100% full. And hopefully that person you're in a relationship with is 100% full as well. I don't want 50, 50 adds to 100. I want 100. 100 ads to 200. So if you start thinking to yourself like, oh, you know, they don't like me, you need to start to detach yourself from it and reframe it. You know, they don't know me deeply enough to make it matter. That's a better way of saying it. Oh, they misunderstood me. Okay.
B
Clarity is not owed.
A
I don't care. Or, you know, they're judging my path or they're judging who I am. Well, they've never walked my path. They don't know enough about me to judge me. And so you have to let this be your mantra. Their thoughts are not my business. My truth is mine. That's when you're a fully grown adult.
B
Right?
A
People can think whatever they want about me, but I care what I think about me more than I think what other people think about me. That's what we really want to get to. And when you hold that boundary inside of your own mind, it starts to show up everywhere. Like in how you speak. You know, you stop speaking with, you know, trying to be taken the right way by every single person. And because you're so wholly set in standing on your own two feet instead of trying to get everyone to like you, you speak with more conviction. And we will be right back.
B
If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages. No hidden fees, no no BS. Plans start at $15 a month at Mint. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Use your own phone with any Mint Mobile plan and bring your phone number along with all your existing contacts. I've been using Mint Mobile for years and noticed that Mint Mobile's quality is just as good as all of the other big companies. Ready to say yes to saying no. Make the switch@mintmobile.com mentor that's mintmobile.com mentor or upfront payment of $45 required equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. What does the future of business hold? If you ask nine experts, you're going to get 10 different answers. It's a bull market. It's a bear market. Rates will rise or they will fall. Inflation is up or it's down. Can somebody just invent a crystal ball? Until then, over 43,000 businesses have future proofed their business with NetSuite by Oracle, AI, Cloud, ERP. Bringing accounting, financial management, inventory and HR into one fluid platform with one unified business management suite. There's one source of truth giving you the visibility and control that you need to make quick decisions. When you're closing your books in days and not weeks, you're spending less time looking backwards and more time on what's next. Whether your company is earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you respond to immediate challenges and seize your biggest opportunities. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine Learning for free at netsuite.com dial that's netsuite.com dial netsuite.com dial. Hey, right now, what is one thing.
A
That you could do to change your.
B
Life for the better? With Masterclass, you can learn from the best to become your best.
A
With Masterclass you get thousands of bite.
B
Sized lessons across 13 categories that can fit into even the busiest of schedules.
A
With plans starting at $10 a month.
B
Billed annually, you get unlimited access to over 200 classes taught by the world's best business leaders, writers, chefs and more. Find out why 88% of surveyed members feel that Masterclass has made a positive impact on their lives. One of my favorite classes was Chris Voss on negotiation. He taught me simple shifts in how to phrase questions that have actually you.
A
That I have actually used in real.
B
Life conversations and completely change the outcome.
A
And right now our listeners get an.
B
Additional 15% off any annual membership@masterclass.com dial that's 15% off@masterclass.com dial masterclass.com dial.
A
And now back to the show. When you get into some sort of conflict, you don't need to win. Not a big deal. It's not a big deal if this person agrees with me or doesn't agree with me. If they like me, if they don't like me. Not saying be an asshole. I'm saying you need to be yourself so much of yourself that it doesn't matter if other people accept you. And so it's going to change the way that you show up in rooms. It's going to change the way that you show up in your creative work for you to be unfiltered, for you to be yourself, for you to fully be in your alignment with your true self. Like there's something that's really attractive about somebody who is just fully 100% themself and, and they don't need anybody else, but they want to be around other people. They want to be around specific people because you can see like there's something about this person that's different. And so what we really need to do is we need to work on building a self trust and self confidence that is so deep that we don't have to look at other people or to other people to try to fill the void within us. You know, at the root of all of this is this. The only opinion that matters is of yourself. Not your parents, not your spouse, not anybody else. You get to decide how much weight somebody else's voice carries. You get to choose whether a comment that somebody said should affect you. You get to choose and decide if you're going to be offended or instead of being offended, you're going to stand deeper in your own self belief. And this work isn't something that just happens overnight. This is the work that you need to do to deepen your own self confidence and self belief to be the type of person when you say you're going to do something, you do it not just for other people, but because you're watching yourself at every single moment. And if you start saying, oh, I'm going to do it and you don't do it, you start losing confidence in yourself when you say I'm going to do it. And you do it no matter what.
B
The end result is.
A
You did the thing that you said you were going to do. That is how you build self belief. And so all of this work happens before being triggered. Like it's important to become aware when you're triggered and to break it down. But you're not going to build self confidence in yourself right after being triggered. So you have to do all of this work before. It's not built in that moment, it's built in advance. And so what I want you to do is if you have a pen and paper around you, write down the three most common things that bother you, like people. That when people, when someone does this, it pisses me off when someone says this, I feel this way when you know, someone speaks to another person this way, this pisses me off as well. You know, if somebody says you're too much or you're not qualified or you're not good enough, or they speak in this sort of tone and then what you want to do is that next to each one, write the truth that you'd rather believe. So in cognitive Behavioral therapy. This is called cognitive reframing. So I'm taking an old belief or an old thing that triggers me, and now I'm going to reframe it for how I want to think about it. Instead of going back to my old defaults, which is clearly where I'm not free and I'm lost, what I'm going to do is I'm going to take my old defaults and I'm going to reframe them with the version of me right now, from this moment forward in what I'm going to do and what I'm going to say. So if someone says, I'm too much, you're too much, right? Too much for them just means that I'm fully expressed as myself. I would much rather think that about myself versus thinking, oh, I need to be more quiet. I need to take up less space. No, hey, that means I'm fully expressed and I'm okay with being too much for some people, because I am 100% me. Someone says, oh, you're not qualified or you're not good enough. I don't need credentials to speak from life experience. You know, if someone's like, oh, you've changed. Change is proof that I'm evolving. I want to change. I don't want to be the same person that I was a year ago, five years ago, seven years ago. And then what you're going to do is once you find these new reframes, is you're going to say them out loud to yourself, with energy, at least 10 times, right? You want to start believing what you want to believe. Not what's been programmed into you, not what you picked up from other people, not when you were unconsciously creating your own beliefs when you were a child or a teenager, not your old default settings, the things that you actually want to believe from this moment forward. And so there's a thing that most people can't really handle. And so if you're in a conversation with somebody and you start learning to be more grounded, start working yourself, start becoming more confident in yourself, and you start needing people less, there's one thing that people makes if you're in conflict that people really can't handle, and that is a grounded person who doesn't need to defend themselves. Like when somebody says something and they expect you to argue, to explain, to fight with them in some sort of way, be an adult. Don't stop being triggered whenever you're triggered or whenever you start fighting with somebody, they have now pulled you into their own crazy brain. That they have, don't say nothing. Just let the room breathe. Let the silence be deafening. That's one of my favorite things to do. If somebody says something and they, and you know, somebody will say something that just kind of like as a jab, like they're trying to just stab the knife in. Nothing, say nothing, it. It will change the way this person reacts. Silence is not weakness. Silence is control. Silence is self control. The person who can control themselves most in a conversation or in conflict controls the conversation or the conflict. You only need to speak, to speak if you want to, or if it serves in clarity in some sort of way, or if that speaking aligns with your truth or, you know, if you want to, if it's for you not to prove something to them. So you have to realize that silence and not reacting and not being offended isn't passive. It is strength. Like someone who cannot be offended, that's a mentally strong person. It's not passive at all. So the silence here isn't passive. It's a decision not to give them the reaction that they want to be fully present and in control of yourself. So next time somebody throws a jab at you or tries to bait you in some sort of way, or throws judgment your way, just try this real simple, pause, look them dead in the eyes, smile just a little bit, and then just walk away. Move on that moment. That's somebody who's in their power. When you're somebody who gets offended too often, you're somebody who's not in control of yourself. You're somebody who hasn't fully matured, somebody who doesn't get offended, someone who just can brush anything off. That's the type of person we want to be, isn't it? And so I want you to understand, like this. This is not about, like shutting people out. It's about figuring out who you are.
B
And getting more firm in who you are.
A
Right? Like, you don't need to hate people to, you know, be unaffected by them. You don't need to be cold or any of those types of things. You just need to stop believing what other people are saying or to need other people's acceptance. What you need is your own acceptance of yourself, nobody else. This is your life. This is your identity. This is your truth. This is the life that you're building. You don't owe it to anyone to be anybody or to shrink to somebody or to explain yourself or to justify yourself. You just need to keep growing yourself into who you actually are. You just need to fully choose yourself. That's what you need to do. That is the most massive act of rebellion. And so this week, here's what I want you to try. Okay, Notice where you get triggered. Catch the moment where you get triggered. And then take out your pen and paper and start working through it. What just happened? Why did I get triggered? What meaning did I give that situation? And if I were to reframe all of this and speak to myself in a different way, to remove myself from this triggering, what would I need to think? Or what would I need to believe? Or what would he need to do? And if you do that, you'll start removing yourself from your triggers and you'll start healing yourself from the things that you haven't healed from in the past. So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please share it on Instagram. Stories tag me robdial jr r o b D I A L J R. And if you're out there and you love this podcast, you want to learn more about coaching with me? Outside of the podcast, you can go to coachwithrob.com I have programs that go from 12 weeks all the way up to 12 months. So once again, that is coachwithrob.com and with that, I'm gonna leave the same way I leave you every single episode. Make it your mission. Make somebody else's day better. I appreciate you, and I hope that you have an amazing day.
C
Hey there, it's Katie Nolan, host of Casuals, the sports podcast where we don't care how much you know about sports. We're just happy that you're here. Every week I hang out with some of my good friends to discuss the biggest stories across sports and entertainment, but in a way that's like, fun and not boring. Want to know Sue Bird's favorite Diana Taurasi story? Or how heavy the Larry o' Brien trophy is? Or even what baseball team is right for you based on your moon sign we got you. Listen to Casuals every Tuesday and Thursday on the SiriusXM app or wherever you get your podcasts.
A
Bye.
D
Hey, neighbor. Celebrate the holidays with Birch Lane. Our timeless furniture and decor are delivered for free in days, not weeks. It's classic style for joyful living Shop Birch Lane, a Wayfair specialty brand@birchlane.com. hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co founder of Angie. When you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well, from roof repair to emergency plumbing and more. Done well. So the next time you have a home project, leave it to the pros get started@angie.com.
Episode: The Power of Not Reacting: How to Control Your Emotions
Date: October 27, 2025
Host: Rob Dial
This episode centers on the transformative power of mastering your emotional responses and becoming unshakable in the face of triggers. Host Rob Dial delves into why reactions aren't about others, but rather reflect our own healing and self-understanding. By blending insights from psychology, neurobiology, and personal development, Rob offers concrete steps to help listeners control their emotions, build self-trust, and develop genuine self-confidence.
[02:18]
"If somebody bothers you, it’s not actually their fault. It is your fault if you’re bothered by somebody else. You need to learn to be impossible to offend."
— Rob Dial [02:32]
[03:10]
"Instead of a flaw, it's a flag. It's like, hey Rob, here’s a spotlight. This is the thing you need to work on."
— Rob Dial [03:37]
[06:42]
"If you are relying on other people to make you feel good, then you’ll never be free."
— Rob Dial [07:32]
[10:33]
"When you finally mature and become a real adult is when your sense of self is no longer requiring anyone else’s confirmation or agreement to make you feel like who you are is okay."
— Rob Dial [10:47]
[16:28]
"You want to start believing what you want to believe. Not what’s been programmed into you."
— Rob Dial [17:52]
[19:37]
"Silence is not weakness. Silence is control. Silence is self control. The person who can control themselves most in a conversation or in conflict controls the conversation or the conflict."
— Rob Dial [19:51]
[21:40]
"You don’t owe it to anyone to be anybody or to shrink to somebody or to explain yourself or to justify yourself. You just need to keep growing yourself into who you actually are."
— Rob Dial [22:14]
[22:40]
Rob emphasizes that controlling your reactions is a muscle built with conscious effort. He encourages listeners to catch their triggers, reflect on the underlying stories, and choose new empowering beliefs. The true power lies in self-approval, living authentically, and embracing silence and non-reactivity as strengths.
Action Challenge:
Notice your triggers this week, reflect on their source, and consciously reframe your beliefs around them for deeper personal growth.
Share your experience:
Tag Rob Dial at @robdialjr on Instagram with your takeaways or insights from this episode.
For more support and coaching, visit: coachwithrob.com
Instagram: @robdialjr