DEFAULT AGGRESSIVE

“There is no shortcut. There is no hack. There is only one way. So get after it.” - Jocko Willink

What’s your default mode when times are tough?

Do you get upset?

Do you fold?

Do you seize the moment and see it as an opportunity?

With every difficult experience, you have a default mode that you rely on. And your default mode is what has been conditioned into you for most of your life. Probably based on how your parents, peers or your younger self handled previous challenges.

Many of us, myself included, have a default mode that causes us to be reluctant. Hesitant. Fearful.

One of my favorite motivational speakers, Jocko Willink, is a former Navy Seal who has a plethora of effective leadership tactics and strategies.

He used to tell his Seals to be “default aggressive”.

What the fuck does that mean?

It means when faced with difficulties in trying to accomplish a mission, you make a call and go for it.

It means that when in the midst of turmoil and adversity, your default is triggered to make moves. Not to wait for things to develop.

My football coaches in high school used to use a similar phrase:

“If you’re going to make mistakes, do it full speed”.

In other words, take control of the situation by making a decision and getting the fuck after it!

This is difficult. Because at first, this has to be a choice. Your choice.

As I mentioned earlier, many of us have been conditioned to have a default mode that causes us to be hesitant. But hesitancy hasn’t gotten you or me anywhere close to where we want to be.

Once you begin to make decisions in the midst of adversity (whether right or wrong), you begin to create a new default mode. A more aggressive default that is much more reliable than the one you have been depending on for most of your life.

If you’re going to make mistakes, make them aggressively. And the results will speak for themselves.