Changing Default Settings

Soooo, I was reflecting on some goals that I'd made for last winter semester that turned into goals for the year. I did really well on one of them, did really well on another one for a good chunk of the year, and did more poorly than I would have hoped on the other two.

But here's a thought that I am hoping will govern my actions the following year:

I’m a pretty good person, especially when I’m well-fed, when people are nice to me, when I’m healthy, when I’m not under a lot of pressure, and when life is just going smoothly. But so is everybody else.

But what are my default settings?

Let me illustrate what I mean by default settings. I haven’t been skiing for several years, but when I did go, I used the plow style that beginners use. Sometimes I would go on the bunny slope to try to work up to parallel skiing. I’d go back up to the bigger slopes, begin parallel skiing and then switch back to the plow when the path got steep or icy. The plow is my default—it’s what I do when the going gets rough.

Changing our default settings is difficult business that requires dedication and discipline, and most of all, desire.

Let’s all be nice, even when people aren’t nice to us. Let’s think of others even when we’re tired, hungry, or sick. Let’s be understanding, even if we feel misunderstood. Why? Because that is what Jesus would do. And that is what will bring us the most satisfying form of happiness.

When this life is over it will just be us: not the company we founded, not the friends we made, not stuff we acquired, but just who we've become. What our default mode is.

So that's will be my overarching goal for the year--make my default mode a little bit better.

Let's all take control of our lives and intentionally make 2016 the best year ever by being our best selves the world has seen.