Pushed Buttons

We all have ‘em. Buttons, that is. Psychic buttons.

And it’s inevitable that we’re going to run into someone who is

expert

at pushing them.

My buttons get pushed when people

• talk endlessly about themselves

• leave messes behind them

• exclude others

• tell me what to do

I know one of these (and many other) buttons has been pushed when I’m flooded with sudden, screaming emotion. Contempt, wrath, insecurity, self-righteousness. When I feel as though the ground has been pulled out from underneath me. When I’m shocked, raw, vulnerable, volatile.

The latest episode of the Teachers’ Lounge with Betsy Burris is about a teacher’s pushed button, which is this:

“Are you saying I’m stupid?”

Listen to how Lawrence manages.

(His approach can help during the holidays, too, when families — that is, expert button pushers, cuz they helped make them — are together and there’s maybe a teeny bit of stress.)