Complacency is the greatest tragedy of success. It is a threat that if we fail to manage well can lead to the tragedy of success.
The tragedy of life is not found in failure but in complacency. Not in you doing too much, but doing little. Not in you living above your means, but below your capacity. It’s not failure but aiming too low; that is life’s greatest tragedy – Benjamin E. Mays.
With my head drooped down and my face on the floor. I couldn’t look him in the face. And all I could only do was wish the ground would just open up and swallow me. The scolding was becoming unbearable as he ferociously lambasted me, each time yelling at me, ‘’you disappointed me’’, ‘’I thought you would do better, now see where your complacency has landed you’’, he fumed. That day I felt very guilty like never before.
It Almost Ended Tragically
At this point let me let you in. After my primary education, there was an offer for a scholarship through secondary school. And as a prerequisite, we were expected to pass the written test. The test was in two parts. As expected I was outstanding in the first test, coming first ahead of every other candidate, and this pleased my mentor, my former headmaster. He was so impressed with my performance, and so he encouraged me to do better in the second lap of the test. And to prepare me for the test he gave me some reading material that he believed would be beneficial to me in passing the final test.
Actually, I goofed; I was so complacent about the test. Instead of studying the material given to me, I wasted time playing around with kids in my neighborhood, not minding the danger ahead that I might fail the test and thereby lose the scholarship. What really happened was that I was satisfied with my performance in the first test, so I relaxed thinking that the second would be a walkover. However, after the final test, I performed woefully and my mentor was so furious at me. Even though I got the scholarship yet I felt very bad and guilty because I performed abysmally when I was supposed to fly high. That is the danger of complacency. My complacent attitude could have led to the tragedy of success in that exams.
Stud in the Wheel of Success
Indeed, complacency is a tragedy of success. It is often said that success comes with the danger of complacency, and this statement of fact to a large extent is correct. So complacency is a threat every success-minded person must squarely deal with. Succinctly put complacency is the feeling of smug or calm satisfaction with your own abilities, achievement, or situation that prevents you from trying harder. It comes with the ‘I have arrived’ feeling, a situation where one feels lackadaisical about improving his or her situation. It entails hibernating or retreating to the comfort zones because one feels a sense of security. Technically, complacency means to rest on one’s laurels or oars.
A complacent person is very pleased with his or her current achievements and feels that he or she does not need to do anything about a situation even though the situation may be uncertain or dangerous. Thus, complacency is a very wrong attitude to success. In my post on ‘success and the attitude question’, I did say that success is an attitude and that when it comes to success attitude is everything. So, the wrong attitude amounts to a wrong footing on the threshold of success. Complacency pushes you off the threshold of success. It is the architecture of your downfall.
From Top to Bottom
Climbing the tree of success requires a lot of effort, but falling is an effortless experience. It is an easy and free fall from top to bottom. Understand that a little complacency results in a massive fall, or a slip from the summit of mount success. Moreover, if it is left unchecked could lead to distortion of the systemic order of success. Eventually, it will snowball into an unpleasant situation where one begins to live in his or her past glory. This is a tragedy of success.
Overrating Leads to Complacency
Complacency is a dangerous threat to success. The danger of it is that it limits progress. Success is progressive. It is often said that the largest room in this life is room for improvement. By your inaction, you cannot improve on your situation and progress to the next level on the success ladder. There is no limit to success. The more effort you put in with the right attitude the higher your ranking on the success log, and vice versa. The problem of complacency is often not unconnected to overrating, especially when one is overrated in relation to others if it is not well handled, it may lead to self-satisfaction.
Understand that the race to success is a competitive one so while you are resting on your laurels others are working assiduously to surpass your achievements. For instance, in the game of football, the overrated teams are often punished by the underdogs because of complacency. Whether you are an individual or a corporate entity if you want to succeed or to remain within the threshold of success you must shun complacency. It is the tragedy of success.
Aim Higher
Don’t settle for less. It is a tragedy of success to settle for less when you can do more. Always do more to improve your situation. Don’t lose the steam rather let off more steam as this will keep your success train in motion. Remember no matter how successful you think you are there are more grounds to break, more coasts to explore, more empires to build, and more horizons to reach. And only you by your complacency can stop you.
What is your own experience with complacency? Share it in the comment thread.