The Wrong Default

This is a personal reflection on fear-based thinking. The images of nature that follow are metaphors for how I understand possibility, not claims that risk disappears or that every outcome is within our control.

Desire to increase the frequency of experiences unfolding harmoniously in your life? This post title could be misleading at first glance assuming that it refers to a mistaken (‘wrong’) fallback. What it actually is about is the default thinking itself of the possibility of things going wrong. We live under a blanket mental program of the possibility of things going wrong.

Unlocking the Origins of Anxiety: Exploring the Psychology of Risk Perception

Insurance exists for good reason: life contains real uncertainty, and preparation can be wise. Yet I notice how easily prudent preparation becomes a mental habit of rehearsing every possible failure. When I speak of nature’s impulse to thrive, I am offering an image that helps me question that habit—not suggesting that people should ignore risk, medical care, or practical responsibilities.

In a hypnotherapy session with a client the anxiety of the pitfalls of securing desirable employment was expressed. The concerns about job searching, interviewing, choosing the wrong opportunity, plagued this client. (You can replace ‘job’ anxiety with health, relationship, money, aging, retirement – pick your [anxiety] poison.) What emerged from the plight expressed was the larger existential question of, “why does, ‘what could go wrong’, insidiously accompany us?”.

Though one may possess an optimistic personality it typically is superimposed on the subterranean programming of wariness. Our efforts to be (remain) positive, optimistic, and encouraging I posit are only necessary because of this unconscious strain of the fear of what can go wrong. (Positivity has its own industry too.)

Rediscovering Life’s Purpose: Breaking Free from Existential Amnesia

What’s at the root of this predicament? We (you) have forgotten that Life, fundamentally, knows what it is doing. Our existential amnesia has created the ‘mitigation zone’ in our awareness. We want to handicap the chances of “wrongness” in every way imaginable because the idea of it accompanies our every thought.

The understanding illustrated here is not for the purpose of being pollyannish, “unrealistic” or delusional, it is to profoundly question (and therefore liberate from) the existential setup. The very fact that life as a self-sustaining, unquestionable thrust to thrive would be considered ‘unrealistic’ indicates how far down the rabbit hole of distorted programming we are.

When I watch squirrels and flowers, I see an image of life responding to its surroundings. It reminds me to ask whether a habit of expecting the worst has crowded out my awareness of other possibilities. Nature is a metaphor here, not a guarantee about the outcomes of human lives.

You may also like this: Nothing Matters

Unlocking Tranquility: Accessing the Power of Possibility

This is the true delusion – to think we are independent of Natures fundamental mandate to thrive and therefore we have to concern ourselves. The most practical, responsible, pragmatic thing you can do is to wake up from the mesmerism. Not fight, resist or curse it – just wake up from it.

In my view, questioning an inherited fear-based story can change how we meet a situation. It may help us act with greater clarity and openness. That is different from promising that health, abundance, or relationships will automatically flourish. Dare to redefine what is “realistic” while remaining attentive to the practical care each situation needs.

Can it be that simple? Here’s your analogy: When you wake up from a dream, you automatically do things differently than in the dream state, right? There is no magic here (magic is unnecessary), when you decide to wake up from the “life is hard and then you die” mesmerism – you do things differently causing different occurrences, different consequences. Now, that part – is simple.

Read also: Power Silence

Summary

The habit of anticipating failure deserves examination, not shame. I invite you to notice when preparation is useful and when it becomes a constant rehearsal of fear. Reconnecting with possibility can help us act more deliberately; it does not remove uncertainty or promise a particular result. For a practical companion to this reflection, read Reprogram Your Mindset.