July 27, 2006
"The Triggerfish are a group of very beautiful, very aggressive and very strong fish. They are deep and fat bodied with enlarged heads. They have very powerful jaws and can chew through just about anything, rendering them inadequate for reef systems. As these fish can be hazardous to others, they are best kept in a single species tank or with members of similar aggression."

And I wasn't thinking of "Triggerfish Twist" by Tim Dorsey. I've only completed reading one of his books and gave up on his latest one, which, had I completed it, I would have been paid to review it. But since my reaction every couple pages was to want to throw the book across the room, out the window or in front of moving vehicles, I decided life was too short.

Anyway, what am I talking about today? Not triggerfish. I was thinking, while showering (where most ideas seem to come) what different people's triggers are.

(The train of thought probably went something like this. Stepping on the scale, seeing I've maintained the recent weight loss--23 pounds since September--and thinking about all the lifestyle changes I've made--changes in diet, going to the gym, biking, kayaking--and noting that 42 years old was probably a little old to just start taking care of yourself, but the trigger was my doctor warning about becoming diabetic and being "diagnosed," if that's the right word, with "metabolic syndrome," and thinking that I could never be one of those born-again health nuts that goes around preaching to everybody about how they should take care of themselves because I understand that everybody's trigger is different, and that got me to thinking about what it is that triggers change in people's lives...)

Because really, don't most of us just muddle along the way we always have, wishing we were doing something different? Wishing we liked our jobs? Wishing we could lose weight? Thinking we should exercise but not doing it?

All too often the trigger for change is something traumatic. The death of my father, I believe, started or ignited a change that led to my going fulltime as a writer. I had wanted to for years, and the work was definitely building and I was definitely getting into better paying markets. The Terrys traditionally were very long-lived. Great Grandma Terry lived to be 99. My Grandpa Terry and Grandma Terry both lived into their mid-90s. My father had been amazingly healthy his entire life and we had no reason to believe he wouldn't live into his 90s as well. He didn't smoke, didn't drink, ate healthy and got moderate exercise. Then he got cancer and died within 2 years at the age of, I think, 76. And I think that I felt like: life is short and there are no guarantees, so if you're unhappy doing what you're doing, you'd better make a change and fast.

It wasn't that fast, but I made the change, and thank god for it.

And just like the health thing, I suspect we all have different triggers. You could warn me about the risk of heart disease and other things, but it took a doctor holding my test results in front of me and saying, "If this continues you WILL be a diabetic. Not if, when," to make me take these things seriously. Diabetes was, for me, a real trigger, where warnings about high blood pressure or heart attacks didn't. Everybody's trigger is different.

I'm not really going to apply this to writing. But one of the things I've noticed about aspiring writers is the "if only I..." kind of thing. I don't know what that is for each person. I do know that each person's trigger is different and it might be impossible to figure out what yours is that helps you make that change in your life that you wish you could make, whatever it is--until it happens. It might be the death of a loved one. It might be a doctor's warning. It might be as simple as waking up one morning and thinking, "I hate what I'm doing, I have to make a change." Maybe it will require you losing your job or whatever. It would be nice if our triggers weren't traumatic, but all too often they are.

Anyway, good luck.

Best,
Mark Terry