Don’t Mistake Complacency for Content.
Are you content or just being complacent?
What kind of life are people content with? Well, picture this.
You have a family with two kids, a nice suburban house, and a steady 9 to 5 job. Family dinners filled with laughter, hanging out with friends after work and maybe watching your favorite movie on the weekends.
Don’t be mistaken, this life is also filled with its ups-and-downs — a fight with your kids, a bad day at work, etc. Yet, you wouldn’t trade it for the world.
To me, this is the stereotypical idea of contentment. This might be your idea of contentment.
And that’s perfectly fine. Honestly, I think it’s beautiful.
Not everyone wants to be the next Steve Jobs. Not everyone aims to start a billion-dollar company — some are perfectly happy with an “ordinary” life. And it’s a blessing that our idea of the “ordinary” is having family dinners while for others, it could be searching for clean water and just trying to survive.
That’s why if you are this person, don’t feel ashamed or feel like you must do more. If you’re happy and have found purpose, then keep doing what you’re doing.
I simply want you to make sure that you actually are happy, or content.
Some Definitions.
Let’s got our terms down first. If you’ve read my articles before, you know how much I love definitions! Take a look:
Complacency → self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.
Content → feeling or showing satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation.
There’s the key difference. Unawareness.
It’s easy to mistake complacency for contentment. You tell yourself you’re happy with your life, but it’s only partially true. The more accurate term would be that you’re comfortable with your life. You’re unaware of your true feelings and goals.
So, are you content or just complacent?
Don’t Be the Meme.
As funny and relatable as this meme is, don’t be him. Don’t be the person who pretends everything is fine when it’s not. Because the first step to being anti-complacent is being aware of when you’re being complacent.
Only then can you take steps to be anti-complacent and make changes towards growth and contentment. And don’t worry — there’s no need to be afraid of change. You have to embrace change to grow. After all, if you’re unhappy with your situation, why endure it? Figure out the steps you need to take to achieve contentment.
How to Become Aware of Complacency
To identify complacency, ask yourself:
- Are you happy right now?
- Is there anything else you’d rather be doing? Why aren’t you doing it?
I get it, these are hard questions. It’s difficult reaching that first step of awareness.
However, we all give tell-tale signs of how we’re feeling daily. When you wake up, are you looking forward to going to work or school? Or is your mind elsewhere, dreaming of something else? Are you telling yourself things like “Maybe someday” or “It’s okay if I never achieve what I wanted”?
The first would be contentment, while the latter would be complacency. And honestly, if there are any goals that you’ve wanted to achieve but never did, you’re being complacent. That New Years Resolution that you kept for only a week? Time to get back to it!
Food For Thought
If you truly want to strive for self-growth, the key is to be content with change. With constantly growing and improving yourself every day. With the idea of imperfection. Accept and embrace the idea of an endless journey, never truly “settling” down or getting comfortable. Being happy with the journey rather than the destination would keep you persevering and constantly growing every day.
Key Takeaways
- Contentment is satisfaction while complacency is satisfaction combined with unawareness.
- It’s okay if your idea of contentment is living in a big house with your family and having a steady job! Just be intentional about your feelings and what you want to achieve.
- Don’t accept your life simply because it is what it is. If there’s something you don’t like or want to improve, take steps to change it.
- Be content with change and self-growth!
Thanks for reading! Feel free to follow me on Medium, LinkedIn, or shoot me an email to hear more. Until next time…
Email: alexiswang55@gmail.com
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