“The discipline of countering our reflex for self-righteousness is a triumph of existential maturity — one increasingly rare in a culture where most people would rather armor themselves with judgment than tremble with uncertainty, would rather be right than understand.”
— Maria Popova
What are defaults? By definition it means either :
(1) a failure to fulfill an obligation
or
(2) a preselected option adopted by a machine or mechanism
In both cases, it hints at a setback or failure on some level, whether it be of analysis, decision or action. In other words, “to have missed the mark” which is, interestingly enough, the very original definition of the word “sin.” We don’t think much of this word because we assume, due to our use of modern language as associated with mechanical things like machines and computers, that to default implies going back to neutral, a start over from scratch so to speak. Unfortunately, this isn’t true. In actuality, to go back to a default state really means to go back to some set of instructions that has already been pre-formed and pre-dated. This is all fine and dandy when you’ve programmed your tv settings all wrong and want to return to factory settings, but when pertaining to life’s myriad of challenges, it can be both inappropriate and even damaging. What do I mean by that? Simply this: When you go back to default, you are no longer properly thinking and adapting to the situation or problem at hand — which is always new, since all problems are novel by nature; instead, your going backwards to preset ideas and formulas is bound for failure. To add to this misfortune, most of our default conditioning is harmful and, like a bad habit, spirals us down towards a viscious circle of self-imposed disaster.
Let’s look at this together and ask yourself: do you default to these states? (andthen maybe you can ponder choosing an alternative position?)
- frustrated by the outcome of a situation, you begin to blame things or people.
- you’ve just seen or learned something for the first time and you adopt the vain belief that it’s also new to others.
- you see work that is better than yours and envy or bitterness enters, instead of wonder or admiration.
- you meet an idea or problem you don’t understand and you begin to criticize or dismiss it.
- you’ve discovered something nice— a intellectual realization or even something spiritual — but instead of just enjoying that moment you try to hold on to it (ultimately leading to its loss and disappointment)
- you’ve got a great idea for your art/animation but instead of going through the proper workflow that enables its becoming, you rush into it.
- you get feedback regarding your work or person and, without actually listening to what it might mean, reactively defend yourself.
- you’re working and feeling that you have to do it faster or better than you are.
- you make a mistake and forget it’s just a mistake, not a condemnation on your abilities or being.
- you see an old friend/acquintance, you assume he is or should be the same as he was before.
- you don’t like something, you assume it’s bad, not accounting for preference or possibly, your own lack of knowledge or ability to see.
- you do or make something nice, and expect immediate appreciation or accolades.
- you see other people’s good work and attribute it to natural talent or luck (forgeting to realize the effort, patience and persistence involved)
- you arrive at success but instead of increasing your gratitude you grow your ego.
- you’ve done something wrong to someone and assume that if you feel bad about it, you don’t need to apologize.
- you think of something nice to do for someone, but you delay taking the action to do so.
- in making a decision, you’ve given the rational (left-hemispherical) brain much more weight than you give your intuitive (right-hemispherical) brain.
- you use mechanical language, rather than human language, to describe excellence. Eg. calling someone a “machine” to glamourize his speed and/or consistency of output.
- when you’re working and thinking about the ending of the work.
- you think about the cost of things in strictly numerical terms. Eg. Doing overtime makes you more money but only costs you time rather than the multitude of other “unmeasurable” possible experiences missed, like making a new friend.
- being unhappy at the moment, turning towards potentially health harming pleasures.
- constantly seeking first to gain rather than to give.
- always thinking in time — whether you’re at work or play — you don’t let go of the past or future, so you’re never truly present.
“Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius