Our World Defined By Complacency
It wouldn’t be outrageous to say that every kid has dreams of changing the world at some point in their life. What a glorious day for them to imagine when they would impact the world and improve the quality of lives all around the world. But how many actually end up trying to do that? Not too many it seems. One could suggest complacency to be reason for many cases.
What Leads To Complacency
Complacency is usually described as a feeling of self-satisfaction and security while being unaware of potential dangers or defects. For our means, we’ll look at complacency specifically as a feeling of being satisfied with the existing situation/condition. Being satisfied with the way things are and avoiding the life of uncertainty and frequent failures are some of the most common reasons why many don’t to try to try.
“I have this crazy idea that could potentially solve a huge problem for thousands of people. But what if it fails? Its too daunting! Will it ever work? I guess no one will ever know.”
After all, why choose a life full of uncertainty where success isn’t guaranteed, when you can follow the conventions and have a higher chance of being successful at it?
Being Anti-Complacent
What does the uneasy feeling of not being satisfied with the way things are lead to? Inventions, discoveries and moonshot ideas that could be a great synonym to “other-worldly”. Many of these “moonshot thinkers” share two groundbreaking weapons in their arsenal. They are words you see everyday but you probably don’t look at them from a “moonshot” perspective. Ready to know what they are? Drumroll… they are “what if” and “why”.
Anti-complacent thinkers aren’t afraid to imagine “what if”. Let me be a bit more clear. Anti-complacent thinkers aren’t afraid to wonder. They are not shy to imagine a world that is drastically different than the one they currently live in. They have an unorthodox vision of what is possible, and they are certainly not afraid to try. It requires courage and unconventional thinking to be able to do that, but once the freedom to think is valued more than the fear of appearing “crazy”, you are able to enjoy a world full of ideas and imaginations which can lead to eye-opening possibilities.
The other weapon that plays in harmony with “what if” is “why”. This is also known as First-Principles Thinking. Anti-complacent people question the status quo to the very depth. The biggest of problems can be broken down through this fundamental question. Why are things the way they are? Why can’t things be the way they want them to be? By following this fundamental question, they find it easy to arrive to the root problem, the thing that is actually preventing a future that they desire. From there on, it’s up to them to challenge the status quo by removing that barrier.
Sound too fluffy? Alright, let’s take a look at some real-world examples!
Waymo
In 2009, 33,808 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the United States. Need a jarring fact on top of this? That number was the lowest recorded in 59 years. Approximately 94% of crashes are caused by human error.
And more than a decade ago, someone dared to think of driverless cars. You may have heard about a lot of automated vehicles lately but they are still a new concept even in 2021. For giving you a contrasting perspective, the year 2009 was when everyone was excited for the new iPhone 3GS to be released. And during that same time, a company with a mission of developing automated vehicles was founded. Yes, someone wanted to develop self-driving vehicles while the world was just getting used to having GPS on their phone. Hope you realize the absurdity.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has innovated and built revolutionary multibillion dollar companies in fields including — aerospace, financial services, and automotive. His approach to innovating and problem-solving is the First Principle approach. The following video shows Elon explaining the First Principle method for solving complex problems and innovating in a bold fashion.
Determining The Fine Line
Anti-complacency is about being curious, courageous, and creative. How can you change things around you? Why are they the way that they are? What if they could change? How could they? Why can’t they right now? Anti-complacency doesn’t mean complaining about everything or being discontent all the time. That would certainly be an unhealthy approach to life. Anti-complacency shouldn’t lead to discontent but rather innovation through critical thinking and the will power to try.
But Hold On…
Anti-complacency doesn’t mean you have to change all of the world. Anti-complacency isn’t defined by building billion-dollar companies or becoming a world-famous CEO. At its root, anti-complacency is simply a mixture of curiosity, creativity, and courage. These 3 things can be applied to any situation. It can be as little as the little systems around you. So the next time something catches your attention, ask “why” and “what if”, and what will make you stand out will be your courage to accept the challenge and implement creative ideas.
Like this article? Please show support by liking (or rather applauding) it! To follow me throughout my journey of learning new things and sharing them, subscribe to my newsletter, connect with me through LinkedIn, visit my Youtube channel, and follow me on Medium!
