Keep complacency at bay

We all get complacent from time to time.  We get to a comfortable point at work and slow down a bit.  We might even slack a little and get bored with what we are doing.

This is normal and happens to everyone from time to time.  It may signal a time to make a career change or simply point to a reason to take some time off to get a clearer picture of why you are doing what you are doing.

Complacency can be dangerous though.  Too much and suddenly we are walking around complaining that people around us aren’t good enough.  Too much and we are starting to turn into Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. 

That is why I put such an emphasis on contentment over complacency.  Being content means that we don’t need more to be happy.  We have everything we need to be happy. 

But being content doesn’t mean we stop moving forward.  We can keep the contentment without it turning to complacency. 

To me this is how we keep complacency at bay.  We realize we don’t need more to be happy and then get back to work.  We constantly look for ways to improve and get better. 

Doing this adds purpose to your life while still maintaining the ability to relax and be happy.  We start to happily go through life working our tails off in order to improve and grow. 

So if you find yourself growing complacent, work to shift your mindset from stopping to moving forward.  Shift from feeling that there is no point in trying to being willing to do the hard work necessary to improve, regardless of the outcome.

You will start to improve and grow.  New challenges will emerge and instead of burying you, you will welcome them as helpful prompts to learn more. 

Yes we all get complacent from time to time but it is how you respond to that complacency that is important.  Do you wallow in the annoying aspects of life or do you take action and keep pushing the limits, while remaining content and happy during the journey? 

If you can keep complacency at bay and keep improving you will get more out of life.  You can start to change from complacency to contentment at any time and the sooner you do the better off you will be.