Complacency
: a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better : a complacent feeling or condition
Complacency kills...has anyone ever heard this before? I bet a majority of you have and there is much merit to these two words. Everyone at some point in their life will reach complacency, this is okay. However, to reside for a long duration in a complacent state in your life is not okay. If you maintain a complacent status then this means you are not learning, or improving yourself.
I am a firm believer in that you must learn every day, a day without learning something is a day wasted. There is a time limit on your life whether you want to believe it or not. It is what you do with this time that makes your life worth living. What are you doing with your life every day that allows you to take a step up from the current platform you are standing on? Do you want to remain on the steps of where you are or climb to the top and elevate past your limits, for example, remaining at a "Yellow" level within Israeli Combat System instead of grabbing the bull by the horns and forcing the Masada Tactical belt test into submission. Do not let Complacency chain you to the steps. One day you will be slugged by life and realize there is no more time to climb, yet there are still so many steps left! If you want to reach the top and at the end of your time look back and see what you've conquered, only to look forward to see no steps left to climb, then complacency must be a state of mind that happens infrequently. Set goals and work toward them to accomplish what it is you desire!
Too often we struggle with this concept, too often we revert to remaining comfortable with how things are instead of pursuing what we want. We create excuses which transcend into us justifying why we don't or can't do something we want to do. We do this until we finally believe that there is no way to do what we want to do because we have told ourselves again and again until we actually believe it. This is the way complacency kills...if allowed it will sabotage our drive, motivation, and initiative to go outside our comfort zone and grab something we want by grounding us to believing we are satisfied with what we have. I am not saying you cannot be satisfied with what you have...but at some point if you have no wish for making things better, improving yourself, or the world around you, Then what is the point of being if you are only here to exist instead of live?
Complacency has other ways of putting you in danger and not the danger that has been explained already. When teaching self defense, this term comes up often, its definition is real and many individuals live in their own bubbles when out and about. We can relate this to not only self defense, but to give a separate example that causes one to fall into harms way, driving. It is the monster that distracts us from being proactive versus reactive when dealing with a potential encounter on the streets or on the road. Most automobile accidents occur 25 miles within range of your own home according to esurance.com, "the relaxation we feel caused by the repetition of driving through our own neighborhood likely plays a role." This is complacency, you are comfortable, and have reached satisfaction with how things are. Unknowingly putting yourself at risk because you fail to realize that today may be different from yesterday. It is the attitude of, "nothing has happened yet, therefor nothing will happen now."
This same attitude occurs when one walks to their car after a long day at work. You have walked the same halls of your job, taken the same routes from your office to the car, and have never had anything happen this far, every day for a majority of the year. Nothing has happened yet, so why would anything happen now? Would you be prepared if something did happen? Let's not only take complacency into account but then add distractions. Staring down at your cellphone while walking to the car, instead of keeping your head up and waiting to use the phone later when inside the car and locked. Looking down for your keys and fiddling with them, instead of grabbing your keys before you head to your vehicle. Talking on the phone, instead of waiting to call that person later once you are in a safe area. These are routine things people do that can be observed on a daily basis, all of which increase their chance of becoming a victim, increase their chance of failing to defend themselves, and decrease their chance of surviving an encounter. Criminals prey on those who are unaware and distracted, it makes for an easier target and an easier target means a higher chance of success.
If we practiced more vigilance and sought out to diverge ourselves from a complacent pattern we would all become harder targets. Keeping your head up and on a swivel, staying aware of your surroundings, grabbing your keys before ever leaving the building, and keeping your cellphone in a pocket or purse and not touching it until we arrived home.
It is the little changes we make in our lives that can make the world of difference and even prevent us from falling into harms way.
Complacency is an enemy, not only to your mind, but also to your safety. Remember that there is truth to the words "Complacency kills." Do not let it kill you.
References
"Where Car Accidents Happen Most." (n.d.) Esuarance - Where Car Accidents Happen Most. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://www.esurance.com/claims-info/accident-info/ where-accidents-happen-most
