Mode of Complacency

I had an interesting conversation with a colleague recently about human beings today and the gifts we have been given. He asked me why people seemed to be scared of their own greatness. In his view, more times than not, an individual is going to shy away from the skills they were inherently given and use their time doing something learned or something that has nothing to do with the skills they were born with. When I asked him why he thought this was, he called it the "mode of complacency." I thought that was a very specific way to describe his view, and the more he talked, the more clear it became to me that this is actually going on in the world. I asked him what he meant by mode of complacency, and he described it as situations where an individual consciously or subconsciously pulls themselves out of harmony with the person they are supposed to be, or when someone will deny their own greatness for the comfort of others.

Some people are afraid of the pressure of their own greatness; what it will mean/take to have inherent skills and master them. I asked him why he thought someone would be afraid of something that is already inside them, and his answer was pretty profound. He said that our culture today is such that people look for validation outside of the self, instead of trusting the truth inherent in our own intuition. It made me think about decisions I have made recently in my own life. Whom do I really serve; the wisdom of my own spirit, or the expectations of others. That is a tough question to answer, and it is something that has been on my mind for several days.

I've come to the conclusion that this "mode of complacency" comes into play when we don't have the proper respect for the tools we've been given. It always bugs me when people complain about our city or the state of Ohio and how they just want to move to California (I feel like all young petiole have this dream at one time or another) or how they just want to leave all of this behind, yet do not have a plan for what they are going to do when they leave this place. I always suggest to people who feel that way to read the book Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell. It is one of the shortest books I've ever read (as it is actually a transcript of a speech) but it had one of the biggest impacts on my perception of this city and the opportunities therein.

Our American culture is one of consumerism. We always are shown what we don't have and why we need it. It is skewing our thought processes away from a fundamental question we must all answer; how can use what we do have most effectively. That complacency, or the lack of will to make do with what we have, will be the downfall of our society; unless we can open up our eyes and see the massive opportunities before us. I think one of the biggest differences between success and failure is being able to see opportunity where others see lack of resources. If you're reading this, I wonder if there are any areas in your own life that feel as if they are out of sync with what you are here to do. What are you allowing to influence your behavior; your intuition, or some need for another's approval? While there are definitely other people whose opinions we should care about, I think it is important to remember that love shouldn't come with conditions.

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." -Steve Jobs

{contributed by Dom Fowler}