{"id":11944,"date":"2012-12-15T22:41:22","date_gmt":"2012-12-16T06:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=11944"},"modified":"2013-09-23T14:43:13","modified_gmt":"2013-09-23T22:43:13","slug":"complacency-how-to-avoid-the-silent-killer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/complacency-how-to-avoid-the-silent-killer\/","title":{"rendered":"Complacency – How to Avoid the Silent Killer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/a><\/p>\n

We climb from the trenches to reach the top, and once we get there, we\u2019re content with our achievements\u2014but warning! Complacency will lead to extinction.<\/p>\n

Success is a wild and crazy rollercoaster, full of ups, downs, and unexpected turns. While a rollercoaster ride can be lots of fun at Disneyland, it\u2019s not a fun way to live your life.<\/p>\n

Humans are creatures of habit, and a look back through history reminds us that, although civilization has progressed over the centuries, there are some traits that persist in our collective psyche. Some of the most vivid stories about how people get caught up in the vicious cycle of life\u2014 success, followed by complacency and ending in apathy\u2014can be found in a book of the Bible called Judges.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

According to the story, the nation of Israel experienced extreme highs and severe lows over roughly 300 hundred years. At one of their lowest periods, they were ruled over by Sisero, a commander of the Canaanite army. For twenty years, the women of Israel were raped and brutalized by Sisero and his men\u2014Sisero\u2019s own mother commented that it wasn\u2019t unusual for her son and his comrades to rape two women a night.<\/p>\n

In a moment of courage<\/a>, a woman named Deborah led the nation of Israel into battle. She raised an army of ten thousand soldiers and they defeated Sisero, who was forced to hide in the home of a woman named Jael.<\/p>\n

Courage surged through the strong mind<\/a> \u00a0of Jael as well, and while Sisero was resting, she hammered a tent peg through his temple with a mallet. The blow was so forceful the peg pinned his head to the ground.<\/p>\n

The counterattack was successful and the Canaanites were subdued\u2014at least for the next forty years. And this is the problem with success\u2014too often it\u2019s followed by complacency. Complacency almost always comes from a sense of victory long after the success that created it is gone. Complacency becomes the silent killer when it slips to decay and ruin.<\/p>\n

Complacency is highly destructive because it\u2019s immune to innovation and fails to recognize either new opportunities or potential hazards. In fast-moving environments of risk, uncertainty, and the unknown, history books show us that this attitude is the perfect recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n

Complacency is akin to something called rustout. Rustout is more common in America than in other developed countries and it\u2019s actually even scarier than \u201cburnout\u201d because, while burnout can wear down your body, rustout can wipe out your soul and spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cRustout is the slow death that follows when we stop making the choices that keep life alive. It\u2019s the feeling of numbness that comes from taking the safe way, never accepting new challenges, continually surrendering to the day-to-day routine. Rustout means we are no longer growing, but at best, are simply maintaining. It implies that we have traded the sensation of life for the security of a paycheck \u2026 Rustout is the opposite of burnout. Burnout is overdoing \u2026 rustout is underbeing.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014RICHARD LEIDER and STEVE BUCHHOLTZ, The Rustout Syndrome<\/em><\/p>\n

There are many similarities between complacency and rustout. Both lead to underperformance, apathy, and unhappiness:<\/p>\n

Here are some ways to avoid complacency:<\/p>\n

1. Recognize Your Blind Spots<\/strong> \u2013 One of the greatest dangers of complacency is that it creates blind spots in people towards the areas in their life that need growth and change. Blind spots are those critical areas that need to be addressed but they are not visible to people who refuse to knowledge them.<\/p>\n

2. Look For Vulnerabilities<\/strong> \u2013 When we are complacent, we no longer think strategically about the future. We become too comfortable with our past and current successes. Our thinking becomes short-term, inward, and narrow in focus. We become so enamored with our past performance that we fail to see new threats coming our way.<\/p>\n

3. Take Risks<\/strong> \u2013 Success is usually achieved as the result of taking risks<\/a>. People who are complacent do not look for new opportunities. They do what has worked for them in the past. What a disgrace it would be for you to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of your full potential. As Anais Nin said, \u201cThe day will come when it\u2019s more painful to remain tight in a bud than taking the risk to bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Kick Laziness in the Butt <\/strong>\u2013 People who are complacent are internally focused on themselves instead of externally focused on others or the situation around them. They work at a constant speed, even when circumstances demand fast action.<\/p>\n

5. Appreciate Your Life<\/strong> \u2013 The best way to pry yourself out of the complacency rut is to admit that your best life begins right now<\/a>, not down the road somewhere. Don\u2019t wait until your life is almost over to realize how great it\u2019s been. Stop wanting a better one\u2014you\u2019ll end up taking that for granted, too.<\/p>\n

The fact is this: complacency is lack of both confidence and courage to make changes in our lives. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, \u201cOf all the words of mice and men, the saddest are: \u2018It might have been.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

How has a complacent attitude kept you from moving forward in life? How do you shake yourself free of complacency? Why is moving out of a complacent attitude difficult for you?<\/em><\/p>\n

———-<\/p>\n

LaRae Quy\u00a0was an undercover and counterintelligence FBI agent for 25 years. She exposed foreign spies and recruited them to work for the U.S. Government. As an FBI agent, she\u00a0believed that most barriers to success were internal. She writes and speaks\u00a0about surviving in an environment of risk, uncertainty, and deception.\u00a0LaRae\u00a0is the author of “\u201cSecrets of A Strong Mind<\/a>\u201d available on kindle now and in paperback in December. You can follow her on Twitter at\u00a0http:\/\/twitter.com\/LaRaeQuy<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We climb from the trenches to reach the top, and once we get there, we\u2019re content with our achievements\u2014but warning! Complacency will lead to extinction. Success is a wild and crazy rollercoaster, full of ups, downs, and unexpected turns. While … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":12102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6],"tags":[2092,2127,591,110,1247,93,4631,1624,2128,2093],"yoast_head":"\nComplacency - How to Avoid the Silent Killer - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We climb from the trenches to reach the top, and once we get there, we\u2019re content with our achievements\u2014but warning! 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