#8: Freeing Ourselves From the Trap of Complacency

In this episode, we explore and become aware of the dangers of complacency and how it can restrict personal growth, relationships, and innovation. I share insights on how complacency can lead to stagnation, a sense of feeling "stuck," and even financial loss. Join me today as we explore strategies to break free from complacency and embrace a mindset of challenging the status quo.

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Credits: 

Song: Green Lights
Performed By: DLP
Written by: Daniel Labate (BMI 100%)
Published by: Boss Soundstripe Productions (BMI 100%)

Song (Trailer): Epic Hybrid Trailer Music
Performed by: by 2CoolFire
Licensed by: Envato Market

Cover Photo: Angela Clifton Photography
Hair and Make-up: Casey J. Cheek

Transcript

This is The Neat Lifestyle Podcast, episode number eight. In today's episode, let's talk about freeing ourselves from the trap of complacency, so stay tuned.

Welcome to The Neat Lifestyle Podcast. My name is Katia Mesquita. I'm a personal organization expert, an online business entrepreneur, and your host on this weekly variety show. I'm excited to bring you an extra dose of inspiration to become more organized, stay organized, and make things work better for you. My goal in this podcast is to help you achieve a more functional, harmonious, and meaningful life. I can't wait to connect with you today. Thank you so much for tuning in, and now let's begin. Hello and welcome to The Neat Lifestyle Podcast. Thank you so much for being here with me today. I am your host, Katia Mesquita, and life can get messy if we allow ourselves to get trapped by complacency. Before I start, I just want to thank two special clients and friends who so kindly helped me find a more accurate vocabulary to express my thoughts and make my point in this particular episode. 

For those who don't know, I'm still learning English as I create this podcast, which I'm so proud to announce, as of today, is present in 12 countries and 67 cities worldwide. I believe they're listening. They know I'm talking about them. Thank you so much. You are making an impact not only on me but also on my special listeners throughout the world. Now, back to this episode about the trap of complacency, which is that feeling of satisfaction with the status quo, usually without awareness of some potential danger. For me, complacency is a dangerous state of mind. It can prevent people from making personal progress or bringing any advancement to the world. It can lead them to poverty either through the inability to acquire assets or by financial loss. It can also bring monotony in relationships. In other words, complacency is a threat to personal growth, relationships, business, innovation, and advancements. 

People can become complacent for many reasons. It can be due to fear, limiting beliefs, lack of purpose in life, lack of ambition, carelessness, but today, I would like to bring to our attention complacency as a direct result of limiting beliefs related to circumstances. More specifically, the way we see circumstances. It could be a natural circumstance of life, a circumstance created by ourselves, or by others. Some people believe or allow themselves to be led to believe that all circumstances are supposed to be part of life, natural thing, and unconditionally taken without questioning or even considering a different perspective or a second opinion. They can let their lives be entirely driven by circumstances or let circumstances keep them from pursuing what they want to achieve or even from desiring to achieve anything at all. Some people are easily succumbing to circumstances and falling into the trap of complacency. 

They treat all circumstances as if they were all unchangeable and get easily satisfied, believing there is nothing they can do. This is a state of mind created by limiting beliefs that hold them back, preventing them from being, doing, and having what they want. It typically happens either because it's easier to think that way or because they allow other people to do the thinking for them, which brings up the quote "If you don't take control of your mind, someone or something else will." I'm not gonna mention the author because this particular quote is attributed to so many different authors that it has become a controversial issue, but regardless of who the author is, this quote is profound and made me rethink how I organize my life, my time, and my thoughts. Yeah, I have been there, trapped by complacency. 

At a certain point in my life, I noticed that I was living a life of stagnation. I wasn't growing despite working a lot. I was told that all the unfavorable circumstances were things that were meant to be and I was supposed just to live with them. I believed they were unchangeable, and most of those circumstances were created by others and easily taken by me. The course my life was taking upset me. I faced a battle between letting it be or not. I chose to let it be. I let others be in full control of my mind, my focus, and my attention and just got used to it. When I finally had some time to myself, I wouldn't know what to do with that time. I would feel lost. I found myself not even desiring anything simply because I didn't even take the time to figure out what would make me fulfilled. Not knowing what to do with my time off made me feel very uncomfortable. 

I noticed that keeping myself busy was my comfort zone and a distraction from having to deal with my unfavorable circumstances. One of them, the feeling of emptiness. I didn't know what to do or how to get help. I was hoping that time would heal and bring the solution, but I was really getting addicted to work nonstop. It somehow became part of my life because it was making me feel important, needed, something like that And with so many places to work at, I unfortunately chose the wrong one, where I was expected to have no personal life, no partner or any plans to have children, just to be considered a good employee. My mind was so busy focused on getting their problem solved that I didn't even have a chance to desire anything for myself. I was hooked by the feeling of being significant and accepted. They made me feel that I belonged. 

Then, when I stopped to make some kind of self-assessment, I realized that they had me totally under control. Control of my way of thinking, the path I should take, control of the choices I should make, the directions I should go. I haven't set any boundaries whatsoever. At that point, my self-esteem hit the lowest score. I was being discouraged from looking at certain things, listening to certain people, and even reading certain books. And why? Of course, to keep me under control so they could take advantage of me, my time, and my energy. I was living to make others fulfilled, pleasing everybody but myself. I was letting people and circumstances drive my mind and my life. I didn't know what to do, but as I kept diving deeper into questioning myself and started working on self-improvement, I started to have more clarity, and I desired something. I desired to free myself from that trap.

Something finally clicked because, actually, there was a great power that was under my control. The power of taking possession of my mind and directing it to my desired outcome. My way out was working on self-improvement. I started by listening to podcasts, and this is one of the things that inspired me to create my own podcast. I want to help people have a more organized life, think by themselves and better deal with their circumstances. Circumstances can be very tricky because when they are unfavorable, people usually get stuck. When circumstances are favorable, some people can get too comfortable and not see things coming. And where's the middle ground? Don't worry, I'll get there. At this point, you might be asking, "Okay, Katia. And where's the uplifting and inspiring part of the show? Where's the go, go, go, you can do it?" Sometimes, inspiration can come after reflecting on our lives, and one way we can stimulate reflection is by discussing tough things. 

Sometimes it comes from a wake-up call. The words may not be the most positive ones, but in this context, the message I want to convey has a positive outcome. I understand that, on the one hand, yes, there are circumstances we cannot change or control. What we can control, of course, is how we respond to them by taking them as opportunities for us to grow and learn some lessons, and life brings us lessons, right? However, on the other hand, it's important to identify what unfavorable circumstances are changeable and also identify that the lessons and rewards can come exactly from challenging them. Challenging some circumstances makes room for improvement, for more achievements, creation, innovation. We can change some circumstances, improve our lives, and make our lives more meaningful and happier. We can create new opportunities, help business to flourish or bring a new business to life, make more money, create helpful tools and products, help more people. 

It is healthy to feel challenged by the way things are. It is okay to desire certain things to be different and do what needs to be done to change them. To get what we want, something's gotta give, and we need to be willing to give what it takes. Challenges help us grow, help things to be invented, allows innovation to take place, and the world to evolve. You see, the iPhone, for instance, was created because Steve Jobs was challenged by the way the cell phones were. He was challenged to create something better. The same thing we can tell about the light bulb by Thomas Edison, the aviation system, the internet, the computers. We have to be really careful with any idea that could potentially lead us to inertia. The impulse to build a better life, a more organized life, for instance, can come from a certain amount of dissatisfaction with our lives compared with the life we really want. 

So, we can use some of the unfavorable circumstances in our favor. You can use this energy that comes from challenge, from discomfort, from dissatisfaction, from lack, as fuel to pump our hearts, to propel us, to fight for what we want. A certain amount of challenge can actually be a good thing, and for those who are just looking for an easy life, an easy way to think or not to think at all because it's easier this way, remember the quote I brought up in the last episode from G Michael Hopf that says, "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times." I'm a strong woman, babe, and you know why? Because I embraced and challenged hard times. What we need is to develop the wisdom to be able to identify the difference between those circumstances that can be changed and those that cannot be changed, and what can we do to free ourselves from the trap of complacency? 

We can start by being honest with ourselves in the first place. I ask myself: What do I really feel? What do I really want? Am I being who I really am or what others expect me to be? Who am I living for? What am I fighting for? We can get into the habit of questioning a little bit more about our feelings and adopting a state of vigilance, which has nothing to do with fear or being freaked out. It has to do with developing awareness, wisdom, identifying where are the vulnerabilities and blind spots. We must pay attention to eventual beliefs that might be limiting us. What if things can be different? What if things can change for the better? What if you already have what it takes? Are you living or just existing? Consider working more on self-improvement. Assign some time to read or listen to a self-improvement book or a podcast or participate in a self-improvement coaching program. 

There is so much happiness in exploring who you really are, what you really want, and in the power to regain control of your own mind. And remember, self-improvement starts with improving your time and energy. Are you ready to reorganize and improve your time? You are more than invited to participate in my free live training about time organization. And I wanted to be a game changer for you, helping you setting a starting point to a more organized life. And if you realize that you don't find the time even to improve your time, that is exactly why you must do it. It's a 60-minute live training, and yes, there will be a replay, but only for those who sign up and only for a limited time of seven days. It is absolutely free and easy to sign up for. Just head over to www.needslifestyle.com/programs or simply click on the link in the show notes for this episode. I can't wait to meet you live. That's all for today. I hope you received some value. If you did, I would appreciate if you leave me a review on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite platform. I'm Katia Mesquita, and I'll see you in the next episode. Bye! 

Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. If you liked what you heard today, be sure to share it with those you care about so they can also benefit from it. If you aren't already following me on social media, do so by clicking on the link on the show notes or simply by visiting my website at neatlifestyle.com. I appreciate you so much. I hope you have an amazing day. I'll see you in the next episode of The Neat Lifestyle Podcast.