Why Most People Stay Average (And How Not To)
Most people don’t choose their default settings.
They inherit them.
And unless you consciously change them, they stick.
From culture and media, to parents and friends, and now – more so than ever – algorithms.
These are the out-of-the-box settings that most people fault too. They are our factory settings, programmed to keep you in the wheel.
The wheel of a dependent member of our society. Unconditionally reliant on what the world has set out for you.
Buying things you don’t need. Chasing things you don’t want. And happily complacent with the lack of self-agency you have in your own life.
A receipt to function just like everyone else; by definition, average.
The problem?
You might not even know what your default settings are, mainly, because you’ve never looked.
But what if I said, you could change some of these?
What if your natural tendency was the opposite of what we were programmed for? And how, by simply adjusting your natural reaction, your life, your training, and your future will dramatically change.
Let’s take a look at seven of our society’s most common default settings:
Default Setting #1: Distraction over improvement
We don’t need to be taught how to get distracted.
Phones buzz. Ads scream. Content scrolls endlessly.
The world is optimized to keep you busy—but rarely better.
Default Setting #2: Seriousness over humor
We are all going to die. Stop taking everything so seriously.
Look at things with a humorous lens.
Laugh at yourself.
And realizing that even the pain, failures, and frustrations that we face are just part of life.
If everything’s heavy, you can’t move.
Humor creates flexibility—mental and physical.
Default Setting #3: Comfort over challenge
We’re sold that comfort equals success: a big house that is filled with things we don’t use; endless entertainment that numbs us rather than nourishes us; a safe job that bores you rather than fulfills you.
But nothing worth having comes from ease.
In training, progress comes from friction. Same with growth.
Default Setting #4: Consumption over creation
Watch more. Buy more. Scroll more.
But when was the last time you made something?
Even a bad idea you built teaches more than 100 you just watched.
Default Setting #5: Opinion over understanding
We’re quick to share takes, slow to seek truth.
Everyone’s shouting, few are listening.
Assuming you know everything closes the door for learning.
Staying curious keeps the door open.
Default Setting #6: Identity over adaptability
We cling to labels (and the labels we once were).
But when identity becomes armor, it limits growth.
Adaptability wins.
Let go of who you were to become who you’re trying to be.
Default Setting #7: Short-term over long-term
We’re wired for now. Quick wins. Instant gratification.
But mastery doesn’t happen in a day—it happens in decades.
The real rewards go to those who can delay, endure, and play the long game.
If you want to be like everyone else, do what everyone else does.
Default isn’t neutral—it’s backward.
You must choose your settings:
Choose practice over passive.
Choose play over pressure.
Choose friction over comfort.
Choose creation over consumption.
You can’t master anything on autopilot.
But you can reprogram yourself—one rep, one roll, one reset at a time.
Own the Process,
Tim
Author of Mastery Monday
Student & Founder
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