This week, the word is complacent. As with many words, there are several avenues I could take in my approach to this post. Many of the ideas that immediately sprang to mind when I saw this week's word were pretty negative, and I realized that "complacent" has a very sour connotation in my life. Complacency has been a factor in the decay of several of my relationships. Complacency has held me back from higher levels of success, in both athletics and academics. Over the years, complacency kind of became lazy, and lazy has a nasty habit of leading to problems.
I realized I was getting complacent in my own life about two years ago, and that my health and fitness were suffering as a result. I was gaining weight, enjoying fewer hobbies, spending less time outdoors, and devoting more and more time to a job I hated just for the paycheck. The epiphany came months before any action, but once awareness settled in, I became antsy. First, I was frustrated and emotional about being stuck in a rut of my own making. There were tears and a couple breakdowns, but eventually I understood that frustration takes just as much time and energy as trying to actually fix the problem.
The initial steps were slow. I bought a new blender and started making smoothies, trying to infuse a little more fruit and vegetable into my awful nutrition. Slowly that practice built into habit, and I got bolder. I started running, just around the block every now and then, but I was doing it of my own free will. A few months later I took the leap into group exercise instruction and started teaching ZUMBA Fitness. As I added more and more exciting and interesting things to my life, I started to dig myself out of the hole I'd fallen into by being complacent with my life.
These days, I try not to let myself get complacent. My new fitness class is seeing a good crowd - okay that's great, but how can I get more people in the room next time? I ran a good race and had a great time - how can I improve my PR in the next race? Got everything done early at work today - good start, how can I set myself up to do it again tomorrow? By presenting myself with constant challenges, I've found my way into some really cool situations! Not everything works out the way I'd hoped, but every attempt at pressing forward keeps me from getting stuck in that rut.
Every tomorrow can be better than today, even if it's just little changes. Hopefully someday I'll learn which things are actually okay to get complacent about, because I know it's irrational to expect every single thing in life to always have a "better" (at least, a better that is achievable within reason), but for the things that certainly CAN be better, I'll be making every possible effort to change the status quo until I find the right balance between challenge and complacency.
Wednesday Word is hosted and coordinated by Deb Runs! Want to see what other bloggers had to say about complacency in their lives? Visit the Wednesday Word linkup page and share the love with other writers. Don't forget to check back every Wednesday for an entirely new set of the Wednesday Word!
Do you suffer from complacency in your life? How do you get yourself out of a rut? Does "complacent" have a positive connotation to you? Why?
To me complacency has a "meh" connotation where you're just cruising along, but realize you should work a little harder to improve, but don't.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up!
There are some areas where I'd like to feel complacent -- work especially. But, the word does not come to mind when thinking about running. I always want more or better. If you enjoy Deb's link-up, you should try the Weekly Wrap. We'd love to have you! It is a fantastic way to connect with and support other strong active women.
ReplyDeleteTwo words you mentioned in your post came to mind when I was preparing for this week's word: lazy and stuck. That's how I think of complacent. It's not a positive word to me!
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