It is dangerous to become so satisfied and complacent we lose the fire within us to continue learning and growing throughout our lives. This is definitely a sign of being satisfied living a mediocre life. Failure to develop and improve is akin to death, and it’s a sad thing to witness in someone who was once alive, with energy and hope for the future.
How many times have we set New Year’s Resolutions? Many people, rightly, look at a new year as a new beginning—a time to make some life changes for the better. This habit of self-reflection and looking ahead is a great attitude to have. We must reflect daily on our need for continued growth.
Setting New Year’s resolutions is an admirable thing everyone does, but the trouble is making these resolutions and they fail to flourish! According to Emily A. Sterrett, Ph.D “We often make resolutions we are not entirely committed to (but believe we should do, like lose weight) or resolutions that are so idealistic and out of reach that they are nearly impossible to achieve (like lose 50 pounds this year), and we quickly get discouraged.” How many run out of the gate focused and lose steam shortly thereafter? We are currently in July. How many of us lost our enthusiasm for our resolutions and possibly even forgot about them in January. Such is life! But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Maybe you need to start small and gradually grow towards your goals? Sometimes it helps to make resolutions with others who will hold us accountable. The focus isn’t the resolutions you make, but how satisfied you are with your life. Whatever change you feel is needed for your own self-improvement must be your own decision, not someone else’s. Decide because it makes you happy and a better person. If living a mediocre life makes you happy then so be it. Don’t complain when you start to feel as though life is passing you by. You need to decide the change you want to produce in yourself and at what cost you will continue to evolve towards that change! It’s your decision to be satisfied and complacent!
Orlando Espinosa