Complacency is Too Comfortable

Some days it is hard not to feel like I’m stagnating in my life.  Day in and day out I go through the same routine, week after week little changes.  Sometimes I wonder if it is okay for my life to be so mechanic or if I need to be looking into something to change it.  Complacency is such a dangerous place to be.   Complacency has a tendency to lead to a type of emotional and spiritual atrophy that I would hate to see in myself as I have seen it in others.

The thing is, there is always something to learn about myself, about the world I live in, and especially about others (even my own wife still surprises me frequently).  I know that there are things that I can change about myself that improve myself and my humanity.  There are things I can do for other people to improve the world (and I do what I can, but sometimes I think I could do more).  So, there is really no reason to become complacent with where I am. 

I find consistently find myself thinking of ways to take advantage of my passions and of my skills.  I know that where I am in life I don’t want to be for the rest of my life.  Sure, I make enough to somehow pay all my bills and somehow pull off date time with my wife without overdrawing on my account, but it is such a close budget I have to watch where every penny goes.  It’s annoying.  I would much rather be in a position where I can still adequately take care of my family but don’t have to be a penny pincher to do it (and I’d probably give the rest away anyway to help give people clean water, or help students through college since tuition is terrible right now, etc).

Sadly, most of this isn’t quite within my circle of influence, but I can start making changes today to get me there.  I need to battle the complacency.

I can start with the things I want to change in myself and go from there.  It’s always better to work from the inside out and not worry about others.  I’ve learned over the years that you can never change other people, you can only change yourself.  As I make more and more changes that improve my lifestyle, my health, my relationships, my skills, etc. the more my circle of influence will slowly expand until I have control over the things that I need to be where I wish to be.

Funnily enough, I’m sure the moment I get where I want to be now, I’ll have found other things to achieve and improvements to be made.  A never ending cycle of growth, success, growth.  Sure I’ll have days when I fall, when I fail, and even back step from time to time, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t pursue it.  We all have things we want that we could achieve if we allow ourselves to push past the uncomfortable and the painful things that will stand in our way.

Change is never easy, but it is good for us.  Humanity can’t live on complacency.  We are so much better than that.

Just some random thoughts for a Friday.

Grace and Peace.