Who’s Default Is It Anyway?

The software in our minds.

• 📝Who’s Default Is It Anyway?

• 📜Stack: Box Cutter Co. Substack

• 📗Books worth checking out: Same as Ever by Morgan Housel

• 📺Snack-worthy Viewings: To compliment the book recommendation, Morgan Housel has been ripping up the podcast circuit promoting the poop emoji out if it. If it’s anywhere in the realm of success that his first book, The Psychology of Money, has had then I’m sure he’ll be fine.

Box Cutter Co. Substack is an informative newsletter with helpful building blocks to get you (and keep you) on track for developing your solopreneur-self. Loaded with novel ideas, David Loewen brings us insightful ideas to help bring us to the next level. Tell him Johnny sent ya!

Same as Ever by Morgan Housel

First, if you haven’t read Housel’s first book The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness…you’ll probably want to. With over 4 million copies sold, it’s become an instant classic in personal finance circles. Long on good ideas and memorable stories, it is enjoyable from noobie to pro and all in between.

Now for his new offering, Same as Ever, Housel brings us a volume that is easy to digest in a day or two and brings stories and ideas to hammer his points home that are powerful. Each chapter is standalone and doesn’t have to be read in linear book like fashion. In it, he tells us of the times in history where the winds of change have blown in a new direction on the slightest whim and forever altered our modern existence. Think the butterfly effect meets your Amazon automated subscription. The big events that will shape our future are only predictable in: they will happen and we won’t see it.

Who’s Default Is It Anyway?

Here’s a nice little association for you to remember and help make some positive changes. If even just noticing this is all that happens for you, it can have a profound impact on your days to come.

Have you ever taken notice of what happens when you power up your computer? What windows pop up and automatically start when the power comes on?

Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash

Someone put some intention into that. A software engineer at the computer company typed in some program so that when the power comes on, then the Windows or Apple logo comes up, the time and date down in the corner are spot on every time without you having to enter it. The apps you’ve installed since your purchase are lined up like ready soldiers along your taskbar at the bottom. Like magic, everything needed is right there ready for your commands.

Your computer goes through something called the default startup and it’s damn brilliant. I still remember the days when, after powering up my computer, I was greeted with nothing more than a green flashing cursor. We’ve come a long way thanks to the mouse and windows programs.

It’s not just on the computer. It’s in you as well.

We all have our default modes and apps in life that are running in the background. Things like:

• How we make our coffee…do we put cream in it first, or sweetener.

• How do we put our socks on in the morning….left first? Or right?

• Which credit card we pull out when we gas up the car.

Those were some simple physical defaults. We don’t put any brain power into doing them. They kinda just happen.

• What about thoughts? Can our thinking be on autopilot? You betcha!

• When that certain song comes on the radio…you know the one, from when you were in high school and it was such a big hit. Your thoughts automatically go to that time and place. (I love this default!!!)

• How about when the boss tells you that you need to do a group presentation next week on that file you’ve been working on? Any thoughts come rushing in? First one probably….FUCK! Lol. Then the thoughts of speaking in front of 30 people might become powerful enough that they occupy way too much headspace, not of the actual material for the presentation. You’ve got that stuff nailed down. You’re an ace. But meetings….ugh! 

Here’s one…how about when someone mentions the word religion. Or politics? Israel? Palestine? Russia? Ukraine? Trump? Biden? You get the idea.

Since the days of Pavlov and his studies on dogs in the late 1800s science has known about the fact that we can be conditioned. Trained. Habitualized. 

It was a rather simple experiment. He would ring a bell then give a dog a treat. Ring a bell, give a dog a treat. Over and over and over.

After this happening so many times in a row the dogs began to learn that whenever the bell rung a treat would soon follow. This eventually led to them salivating at the mouth (an unconscious physiological response) in prep for their treat. Simple, yet powerful. 

Over 130 years have come and gone since he published his work on these experiments. In that time there have been methods developed to take advantage of this fact.

Think of the advertising dollars spent on Madison Ave to get us to purchase a certain product. 

How powerful have political race campaigns become over the years? Shaking hands and kissing babies won’t get you the gig these days. 

This year (2023) a 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl can be yours for the tidy sum of $7 million

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At the end of the day most of what we are running in the background wasn’t actively chosen by us. We learned it from schools, family, churches, community, etc. Most of it came at such an early age that it’s basically all we know. The good news is we don’t have to continue along the same path we’ve been going down.

• Mindfulness Meditation:

  Engage in mindfulness meditation to cultivate awareness of your thoughts without judgment. This practice can help you observe your default thought patterns and create space for intentional thinking.

• Journaling:

  Keep a journal to record your thoughts and emotions regularly. Reflecting on your entries can reveal patterns and provide insights into your default mode, allowing you to make conscious choices about your mindset.

• Question Your Thoughts:

  Challenge automatic thoughts by asking yourself questions. Are your assumptions based on facts? Are there alternative perspectives? This helps break the automatic acceptance of thoughts and encourages a more deliberate approach.

• Learn Something New:

  Engage in activities that challenge your mind and force you to think in different ways. Learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby can disrupt habitual thought patterns.

• Set Clear Goals:

  Define specific, achievable goals for yourself. This can give you a sense of purpose and direction, helping to shift your mindset away from default modes.

My best advice is to try out a few of the recommendations above with the intention of using them to take notice of your default modes. It’s only when you know what you’re dealing with that you have the opportunity to tinker with what’s under the hood.

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I’m curious…..what background defaults and habits are you actively trying to erase or change up? ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Till next week, take care, rest when you need it, and kick ass the rest of the day.
JB

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