I took a little hiatus from blogging. Actually, I took a little hiatus from personal blogging. I've been blogging for work, and I must have justified that as being "good enough." Complacency, I know.
Complacency: a villainous notion. It's often our kryptonite in personal and professional development. We think, or maybe even feel, like things are "good enough." When we stop challenging the norm we stop growing. Complacency weeds out potential, sadly.
Okay, simply blaming idleness on complacency is a little narrow minded and an oversimplification; other factors play a role in our stunted growth. Problematically, though, I think it's easier to focus on one thing at a time. By nature, we aren't necessarily great multi-taskers. So, let's tackle this complacency since it's at the forefront of my mind.
I've been thinking about it lately not only because I've been lacking in the personal blog department, but also because it's graduation season. Graduation season comes with speeches--lots and lots of speeches. Particularly, especially in today's world, we are bombarded with celebrity speeches at their alma maters or random colleges thanks to the magical world of YouTube. Many times, those speeches are placed for comedic value, which is fine; however, if you take a listen and look for patterns, those speeches hold some not-so-hidden value.
If you take most speeches from successful people (celebrities for this example), you'll find one component that's conspicuously missing: complacency. Many of these folks weren't satisfied with "good enough" or the status quo. They didn't get their degrees or go to college and say, "well, this is my life."
Instead, the common trend seems to be their pursuit of something more. While it might come across as vanity to think of acting, for instance, as something more, it's the individual value of that something more that counts. These people had dreams and weren't afraid to chase them. They weren't go to be satisfied with good enough; they wanted to fulfill their dreams.
Most of these people may have opportunities to find something safe and become complacent; however, they decide it won't bring them fulfillment, true fulfillment.
I tend to think we become complacent because of fear (oh fear, how you drive our lives). As I've said before, I am in constant fear of failure. It's always been something that's haunted me. Problematically, if you fear failure you tend to accept complacency. If you're unwillingly to make yourself vulnerable for the sake of achieving something greater, you stay put.
These celebrity speeches tend to talk about how they failed time and time again, and how that failure was necessary for them to find their success. They didn't become complacent, though. They didn't let the fear hold them back or knock them down. They didn't settle.
I may not always understand or like celebrities, but I have to give them credit.
I feel like the people who achieve the most in life and are the most successful, subjectively (because it's impossible to universally and objectively define success), are those who fight complacency. You may get to a point that you become complacent by virtue of reaching the top rung, but I think many of us mistake the height of our top rung.
Obviously, we must account for other factors, but I truly believe more people would find success, fulfill dreams, or get a better life if they dismissed their complacency. As always, it's easier said than done.
I was talking to a friend the other day about possible solutions to a problem. The solutions would take some work, but were definitely in the realm of plausibility. The response: "But that's too much work."
I challenge you, friends, to fight complacency and fight for what you want. Youthful people especially, but it's applicable to young and old alike. As a recent speaker suggested, wouldn't you rather fail trying something that brings you joy rather than something you dislike? As in, if you have a passion and want to be a influential blogger, wouldn't you rather continue to try finding success with your blog rather than giving up? It makes a lot of sense.
Action. Dedication. Will power. You CAN do this.
