Default Future

I have been reading the bestseller: The Three Laws of Performance, by Steve Zaffron and Dave Logan.

It is an amazing bestseller about the laws that govern human and organizational behavior.    Notably, a law is distinct from a principle or hypothesis.  The Law of Gravity does not care if you like it or disagree with it, it will still put you on your ass every time.

Zaffron proposes that there are laws that govern human behavior and that understanding these laws allows for remarkable performance.  Understanding the first law begins with discovering that your behavior is shaped primarily by your default future.  This is the future that is privately feared or hoped for, not some fantasy you daydream about, but what seems like the truth about you and your future.  Breakthrough performance begins with being able to see that you have a default future you have been thinking is the truth.

For example, in a down economy, the default future for most of us is ‘spend less, work harder, grab for straws, panic that you’re likely to get laid-off or fired, be paranoid that others question your performance, dread the company won’t tell you how bad things really are - and hope or pretend that none of this is really happening, cross your fingers, pray for a miracle and wait for it to get better.’  Caution begets caution and most will revert to ‘tried and true’ practices that should have died with the industrial revolution.

Look at all the verbs in this default future: work, grab, panic, be paranoid, dread, hope, pretend and pray.  A wonderful existence isn’t it? 

If your default future did come true, then what?  If this did happen, what would you do?  Take a moment and really look.  After the OMG and WTF reactions, after you blamed everyone else and the horrible circumstances, after you shared your saga with anyone who would listen and finally made peace with what happened, what would you do?

You’d pull yourself together and get creative, inventive and bold.  You would explore new territory and discover new pathways.  You would share what you want or need with anyone who would listen and you would likely find yourself with a new opportunity, a new job or career.  You’d eventually tell everyone how this was the best thing that could’ve happened to you and how glad you are that it happened.  You’ll be stronger and will bring new lessons to new opportunities.

Why are you waiting?

Today, I invite you to be creative, inventive and bold.  You’ll either fail or succeed – but you will certainly fail by waiting for your default future to fulfill itself.

Comments

[Doctor Dehra]

Hello John,
I just found your blog after reading The Three Laws of Performance and doing a search on Default Futures. I completely agree with your post. I am a Child Psychiatrist and have found this concept very useful with my clients and in my own life. I recently spent a year reconnecting to my childhood dreams. This has involved everything from Sea Lion Training to Screenwriting - an absolutely amazing journey! As a result I decided to found a web community dedicated to helping other people reconnect to their childhood dreams. I think that these early dreams contain an element of who we are - BEFORE we accept our default future. There is something powerful about connecting to them - no matter where they ultimately lead.

Here is a link to the site:
www.TheDreamingYou.com

I plan to follow yours!