The meaning of complacent is self-satisfied, or even careless. Unfortunately complacency affects us in more ways than one. Life is filled with countless things and people that are extremely important to us. However, oftentimes, we fail to value them, truly appreciating their existence. We become so accustomed to having them in our lives that the thought of losing them never seems to cross our minds.
In other cases we become complacent with who we are and seemingly sell ourselves short — pushing aside our potential, eliminating the opportunity to learn, grow and better ourselves.
I have a simple, two-word piece of advice for you. STOP IT. Stop being complacent. Complacency is an epidemic, just as bad of a destroyer of human life as anything else we have ever seen. One thing that makes it relevant to each of us is that 100 percent of us fight it each and every day. The second we become too complacent with what we have today, we forget to appreciate those things that may be gone tomorrow — whether they be people or opportunities.
Elvis Presely once said, “Never wait for tomorrow, what if tomorrow never comes?”
How often in life do we find ourselves believing that there will always be a tomorrow? “I will do my assignment, tomorrow. I will clean my room, tomorrow. I will talk to them, tomorrow. I will be better, tomorrow. I will be happy, but maybe tomorrow. I will tell them that I love them, tomorrow.”
We do not know if tomorrow is going to come; therefore, we should never procrastinate doing what should be done today. Never save something important for tomorrow.
Save yourself the pain of regret by taking every opportunity to make that phone call, give that someone a hug, tell them you love them, take that chance, grasp every opportunity, and sit down and talk with those who mean the most to you. Because if tomorrow never comes, you never get another chance to do any of those things ever again. And when it is too late, will you have regrets?
A band by the name of Diamond Rio once shared these lyrics about what they would do if they suddenly ran out of time with the person they loved:
First thing I’d do is pray for time to crawl
I’d unplug the telephone and keep the TV off
I’d hold you every second
Say a million I love you’s
Throughout our lifetimes we will often find ourselves wishing for just one more day, or waiting for tomorrow. Though it is human nature to do exactly this, I encourage each of you to change your perspective, and consider the following: What if tomorrow never comes? We are here, right now. Take your chance, today. After all, you only regret the chances you didn’t take, right?
– by Hailee Eyre (18) Panguitch
Feature image caption: Complacency is an epidemic because it keeps us from doing the things that matter most to us, like spending time with family. Courtesy Pexels.
Hailee Eyre – Panguitch
Hailee Eyre is a journalist at The Byway. She attended Southern Utah University in the fall and is pursuing a career in the medical field. Her favorite topics to write about are those that intend to inspire others, providing motivation as means to better yourself or the world around you. In her free time, Hailee loves to be outdoors, whether it be hunting, fishing, boating or hiking.
Hailee is currently serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Pennsylvania and New York Church History Sites Mission.