A New Normal

April 9, 2017 colin

Have you ever tried to change something in your life? Has something ever come to the point that you have had enough and it’s time to rid yourself of it? Sometimes it’s something simple that you just happen to notice is causing problems in your life, or maybe it’s leading to some potential future problems. Usually it doesn’t matter if it’s a big thing or a small thing. It could be something as simple as losing a little weight or somethings as big as changing careers. The size doesn’t matter, my question is about the outcome.  How many times have you tried to make these changes without success? How many times have you thought in your head, “I`m done! I’m changing this thing now!” You probably felt extremely motivated and had a genuine feeling of inspiration. You really felt like it was possible, inevitable even. But in the end you find yourself in the same spot as before. You still smoke cigarettes, you may have lost a little weight but you gain it right back a few weeks later, you started looking around at potential new careers but find yourself still at the same place getting dumped on by the same people. These are all situations that millions of people face everyday! I know I have spend a lot of time in this space. You are not alone and you aren’t the only one feeling helpless.

 

I want to switch gears really quick at talk about a pretty well known term in the tech world. That term is “Default”.  We have all probably looked at our printer setting on our computers and seen that we have a default printer. A default setting is a designated option for the the operating system to revert to automatically. It’s in place for two reasons, one being, in the case of a temporary option being installed and you only want to use it in that session of work. The second reason is to serve as a preselected option in the event that there is no alternative specified by the user. It’s a really great mechanism for the technology world. It’s there as a back up plan or alternative that the system is always aware of. It knows the option to revert back to, its original setting is always available.

 

So back to my previous questions, so I can ask one more. A simple, yet powerful question. One that can potentially change your life to anything you want.

                 What Is Your Default?

Ask yourself this question, and I mean really ask it to the deepest part of yourself. What is your default mode? Are your taking on the new challenge with your default in mind? Do you really want to change if you are keeping that default intact? I don’t think so! I know that we don’t resolve to change with the thought of going back in our mind, but I know that if we don’t change our normal to accommodate the new then we will revert right back to our default when things get tough, confusing or we become complacent.  Because sometimes we might achieve our goal, we lose 15 pounds and think we are done. So we become complacent and let our system revert back to our default. One thing I struggle with is waking up early. My default is very rooted and has been hard to break. If I do good at all, I almost instantly become complacent and let my default come back.

 

My challenge to you is to change your default! And this goes in with our whole Life Decided system. If you are going to change any of the bad habits or things in your life you are going to have to make a real decision. Making that decision is the most important thing you can do in your endeavor to become something more. To fulfill the potential that I know you have within. When I say make a real decision, I mean a covenant with yourself to commit to the decision. Don’t make decisions with a default. Make a decision with no other options, burn the boats, so to speak. Making a decision, knowing that you are going to do it no matter what is on of the most powerful skills you can ever learn. And the crazy thing is that we all have it within. We have all used it! I know that at least a few times in your life you have come a crossed a situation where you wanted something so bad that you did whatever it took to get it. That’s a real decision.

 

Change your default and rework your normal. That means if you want to lose 25 pounds and you want to keep it off, then change your lifestyle in such a way that makes that possible. Don’t just take a vacation from stuffing your face and laying around. If you want to change your career, then change your default. Don’t look for a new one while you have the safe one still in your mind as a backup plan. I’m not saying up and quit, I’m saying that your backup plan with show up in your character when you deal with others. But worse, it will blind you from opportunity.

 

We teach this in Life Decided and we want everyone to live Life Decided so they can reach there full potential in life, love, career, and happiness.

 

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

James 1:6