You’ve done it, you’ve accomplished that goal you’ve been working so hard and waiting so long for. Congratulations! This is amazing! Oh wait, what're you doing? Stopping there?! Well, it’s back to square one…
Accomplishments are such powerful moments that bring us some of the greatest feelings of happiness and fulfillment. The problem with those feelings is that they’re fleeting. They get the best of us when we think accomplishment is the end goal. For this reason, continuous objectives need to be set. You reach one goal and that equates to one step on a very long stairway to success.
Now, setting new goals sounds easy enough but doing that may not be an attractive choice. If you’ve accomplished something and someone tells you you need to get to work on the next one, you might think “that was hard, I just finished this, let me enjoy this”. Of course, this is where the trap begins, when the “enjoyment” period lasts longer than it should and one becomes complacent.
So if complacency is so toxic, how can we avoid it? Well, you won't just avoid it by someone simply telling you to. Often, you will have to have experienced it and caught yourself in that moment. Think back to a time when you thought you were on top of the world because of something you did. Did you stay up there? Build it into something more?
If you did, great! Keep going. If you want to be able to do that same thing for your next accomplishment, here are some ways to make it happen:
Try New Things
We get used to our ways of doing things and this can make change intimidating, especially the longer we’ve been doing something a certain way. However, as time advances, so does methodology. If you want to have a fair shot with the competition of today, looking for ways to adapt your approach to the ever-changing market is essential. How do you do this? Networking, public relations, and overall being a brand ambassador for your organization or the organization you work for. There are numerous ways to keep up, but the real key is taking the action to do so.
Improve What You Have
It’s very common to have something with potential, but because it hasn’t been maximized, you may want something different. This could be anything from an idea, working towards a degree, or even a small business. Whatever it may be, because it is not fully optimized yet, or because it is hard, you might want something different or give it up. Everything starts as an idea. If that idea doesn’t terrify you or test your resilience, it’s probably not big enough.
Set Goals
Building things to not even 50% of their potential is a common tragedy. So much so that research is finding nearly 80% of people never set goals for themselves to begin with. Of the 20% that do, 70% of them don’t see the goals to fruition. Goal setting is so important, if you ever wonder why such a small percentage of people become incredibly wealthy, it is because they continually raise the bar. What’s even more interesting about that is even when they’re wealthy, they don’t stop setting goals.
Don’t Wait
How many times have you heard “set goals”? You're most likely sick of hearing it but it is so fundamentally important to improvement. Believe it or not, a lot of people wait until they’re middle-aged to try to become successful. There seems to be this misconception that things are just going to happen for you as you get older. But things don’t happen unless you give yourself objectives, and deadlines, and strive towards a vision you’ve created for yourself.
Conclusion
Complacency is a very easy pit to fall into. That sensation of success and feeling untouchable will come with every great accomplishment in your life. Don’t let it cloud your vision or cap how far you go after the fact. There’s always something bigger, better, and helpful to more people’s lives than just yourself.
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