Are you apprehensive about trying out new things, and just prefer your routine all the time? It’s good to be happy with what you have, but have you utilized your true potential in life? What you may be thinking to be contentment, could be just complacency. Take this quiz to find out.
One can be content and not be complacent.
― Dedrick Pitter
You have a job, a house, a car, a loving family, basically all that’s expected of you, but, you are not happy. There’s a kind of emptiness that you feel, as if… there could be more. A little more? Or a lot more?
While some people are too ambitious to ever be content and happy with what they have, others tend to easily find satisfaction in whatever little they have. Contentment is good, complacency is not. What is the difference between the two?
Content people are at peace with themselves, whereas complacent ones are self-satisfied and unconcerned. Since both the terms are very similar, it does become a little difficult to distinguish between the two.
First let’s understand what each means, and then you can take a small quiz to figure out if you are content or complacent.
Contentment
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ― Oprah Winfrey
Contentment comes from satisfaction, gratitude, and acceptance. A content person will continue striving hard to achieve more, but will be grateful for what he has. He won’t do things just to prove something to someone. It is important to understand that, just because someone’s content with their career or relationship, does not mean he does not want more.
Complacency
“The tragedy of life is often not in our failure, but rather in our complacency; not in our doing too much, but rather in our doing too little; not in our living above our ability, but rather in our living below our capacities.” ― Benjamin E. Mays
Complacency comes from laziness, lack of ambition, and false satisfaction. A complacent person will turn a blind eye to all the troubles, and act as if everything is perfectly all right. He will keep waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen.
It is important to understand that every person’s definition of success and happiness is different. What may look like complacency to me, could be contentment for you. Only you can decide if you are truly content.
