By Default or By Design

In his book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen R. Covey talks about to basic ways of living. One is "By Default" and the other is "By Design." These ways of living can and do have a large effect on how we experience our lives. These are some of my current thoughts that are subject to change, as I explore his notion.

For me living so-called default is when I hit a "rut." I go to work, solve a bunch of problems, drive home by the same roadways that I do everyday, come home work some more on computers and problems, play with the kids, talk to Deb about how her day went and then do it all over again. While there is a certain comfort and predictability in "the rut," the trade-off is that it dulls the sense and limits our ability to see "outside of the box."

Living "By Design," is about shaping our life and creating our experience like a work of art, taking nothing for granted. It's "active" whereas default can be thought of as "passive." It's like saying to oneself, "I'm no longer going to be the employee, I think it's okay to be the boss." If you trace the thought, it becomes clear that the life experience of the employee and the boss can at times be very different, because the goals are different.

Maybe a cleaner way of expressing what I'm thinking that that my wife switched up on me. She asked me if I wanted to do a "date night" on Saturday. I said sure. She took me to a restaurant that I normally do eat at, forcing me to order something other than my favorites "chili-dogs" or "Fajita's," and seeing a movie (Batman | The Dark Knight) that she would not normally watch. It broke the routine and we had a great time, partially because we decided (at least for that moment) not to live by default.

The challenge, going forward will be to explore how to conscioulsy live a little more by design rather than eating the same food everyday. If you explore the concept, let us know what you find, by posting back in the comments section. I will let you know how my experience goes.

Happiness,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO