Results don't happen overnight. Stay consistent. Don't get complacent. Work hard. Be patient. Remember that the body achieves what the mind believes. While I can't deny that it's nice to be comfortable and content with a feeling of security, I can say that allowing yourself to become complacent often puts up a road block for us. That road block can be an obstacle that deters us from our hopes, dreams, goals, aspirations, and the future we want for ourselves. This is something I remind myself of when I could easily skip a workout, stay in bed, or eat foods that I know do more harm than good for my body. I remind myself why I started something, I re-center and re-focus on my goals, and what it is I started off so passionate to obtain. For some of us, its career driven, health driven, strength driven, for others there may be other driving forces that are just as strong.
Remain mindful, and continue to show up for yourself. If you become too comfortable, it's time to consider making a change, redirecting your focus, and stepping out of what has become your comfort zone. Be okay with being uncomfortable, be okay with trying something new, and being a beginner again. Perhaps you are given an opportunity that seems daunting, maybe it even induces fear. Grab onto that, let that be your motivation. With grit, grace, hope, and faith you can move mountains and overcome any adversity or obstacle. Becoming complacent stops us from achieving our dreams, accomplishing our goals, and from being the very best version of yourself. If we don't challenge ourselves, complacency sneaks in, and prevents us from moving forward. It allows us to not only get stuck, but to stay stuck in a cycle that generally isn't fulfilling. If you are going to choose to be afraid, then chose to be afraid of nothing changing, of everything staying the same, of not leveling up and achieving what is already in reach. Even if it doesn't seem like it's in reach, go for it anyways, reach for what seems as though it’s beyond your reach, keep pushing, keep trying, don't become stagnant or let the fear of learning something new stop you.
Be content with what you have and where you are, remain grateful, humble, and kind, but continue to put your best foot forward and continuing to have goals that you strive to accomplish. Often we become complacent in our careers, we start off strong and eager, and as we become comfortable in our roles, in our companies, we somehow end up neutral and settling when we could achieve so much more. More knowledge, more responsibilities, the ability to make a difference and truly excel. Often time’s people in recovery become complacent before relapse. Their mental relapse starts long before any physical relapse ever happens. This is due to getting too comfortable, which sometimes leads to a person becoming cocky and pushing their own limits, or worse, they stop trying or showing up for themselves. The same is true when we get less motivated to eat healthy, skip workouts, stop studying or trying to learn more to better ourselves in the workplace. We slowly stop working out, we start eating less healthy, until eventually we are back where we started and wondering when and how we let ourselves get off track.
Sometimes as humans we also get complacent in relationships, we get too comfortable, we start assuming we know what's going on with the other person, even without evidence or checking the facts. We may stop having date nights, or start spending more time checking social media or paying more attention to what's going on in politics or sports than what's happening at home. Getting too comfortable in anything is a slippery slope, when we stop putting effort in, or even decrease the effort, things can move in the wrong direction. Notice how you are spending your time when you are with friends, clients, co-workers, and your significant other. Are you checked in, ask yourself, where is my attention and focus. If it's not on the client, co-worker, friend, family member, significant other that you are within the moment, figure out why, and bring yourself back to the present moment.
Whatever it is you are thinking, think bigger. Dream bigger. Set bigger goals, they should be obtainable but also a little scary and intimidating. Let that fear drive you, let it fuel your motivation. Embrace the unexpected and the unknown, it may just lead you to your best adventure yet. Strive for fulfillment, the feeling of accomplishment, and then, keep striving for more. Become confident that you can accomplish anything, and you will. Live your life without limits, be open to criticism, and in spite of any fear, and press on.
Just because you are content, comfortable, or even maybe successful, doesn't mean that you can't be grateful for where you are and what you have while still desiring and working towards more. No matter how outlandish you think your dreams or goals may be, go for them, and chase them. Playing it safe won't get you anywhere, except in an inevitable spin cycle of the same. No one want's to live just getting by, nor do any of us want to have a life of regrets where we ruminate on what we could have done differently. For the most part, many of us don't want to fit into cookie cutter molds and be like everyone else, so the only way to make a change is to stop procrastinating and start doing. It's okay to put a little pressure on yourself, especially if the alternative is becoming complacent and stuck.
Be patient for what's to come, but also, be eager. Be willing to start over, to be a beginner again, and to continue to learn and grow. This time it's different, now, you have experience, so you are not starting from scratch, rather you are utilizing and expanding on that experience. I urge you not to become complacent, for nothing in life is certain. Get out of your own way, stop letting your dreams be dreams and make them your reality. Continue to embellish on your dreams, making them bigger and more outlandish than ever, and then turn them into your reality. Never stop dreaming bigger, stay focused, and stay motivated. Take breaks, time to breathe, enjoy life and everything it has to offer. Don't get complacent, don't get too comfortable to the point where each day loses meaning, purpose, and excitement. Always be striving towards something. When you think about giving up, when you think about settling, stop and remind yourself why you ever started. Let that combined with the fear of the unknown fuel you together. The best decision you could possibly make for yourself is to live the life of your dreams.
Should. Could. Would. Do.