It's easy to get hooked in our modern world. Meaning many times each day we feel resistance when conversations, outcomes, projects and meetings don't go the way we hoped they would go or as we had planned. Perhaps someone who works for you delivered an underwhelming performance, or you disagree on strategy with your manager, or a friend/family member holds views that are very different from yours - regardless of the scenario, the feeling we experience is similar.
Some common emotional responses when things don't go our way are we feel wronged, invalidated, frustrated or at times angry, and likely our responses (conversations and actions) reflect that. This only compounds the feelings we are experiencing and creates a mirror reaction in the person or people with which we are engaged.
At times, we may feel as if the person or people who triggered us did it intentionally or on purpose -which rarely ends up being the case. Most people wake up each day with a desire to do good and be good in this world.
We live in a world composed of 7 billion unique people each with his/her own idea of what "do good" and "be good" means - none of which are more right or more wrong than the other - just different. It is true that at times we harm each other with words and actions, disappoint each other, miss expectations or plainly act as a jerk. And it's also true that most times these choices are not premeditated - the intent of the action is not to harm, disrupt or divide.
There is a different choice each one of us has when we feel hooked or triggered and that choice is to assume positive intent. This doesn't mean ignore your feelings of displeasure. Rather, address them from a different place - one that starts with assuming the others involved started with a positive intent that just didn't land.
Next time you feel hooked or triggered experiment with making a choice to acknowledge that it was positive intent that created the situation and can get you out of it as well. The choice is yours.