Default

Just this morning I changed a default setting on my computer. You see, I have two printers. I originally had an HP and used that exclusively. Then I got an Epson as well, and began to use it more and more. At first I kept the HP as my default printer, but soon found that I was using the Epson more. So, I changed the setting to make the Epson my printer by default.

Make this one my default setting...

All this means that now I don’t make a conscious choice about which printer I will use each time; I made the choice one time, and without any thought process from me, my choice now sends the data to the appropriate printer. (usually)

Apparently, the same thing happens in my life. On a great range of issues, I have thought and re-thought a particular way, and those thoughts eventually became my default thought on the subject. No longer do I consciously think about the issue at hand, I merely reference my prior thought on the matter, and respond or react consistently with that thought.

The hitch comes when I discover that my default thoughts no longer serve me well. Without considering it, those thoughts, and the correlated responses come up when the issue arises. In order to change the thought, I must go through the process of actively choosing another. And until I make that new thought a true setting, the old rises again the next time around.

Choosing a new thought about the issue, and setting it firmly in place is my challenge. I most often remember to choose the new thought only after the horse is out of the barn. So I set myself to the work of impressing that thought on my automatic mind. I think it long. I think it often. I begin to get out of the old groove. As I sustain my choice it moves into my automatic mind, and I no longer have to consciously choose it every time.

Except for the times like today, when my computer setting hopped back to the old default. Those times, I simply choose again.