Here was James lying lifeless on the floor. James!! Wake up James!!! This wasn’t the plan we had. Please James. Sarah, James’ closest friend, cries uncontrollably at the loss of her friend. A few months earlier, James and Sarah met in the cafeteria for lunch and discussed their goals for the next year. Two days before James passed away, Sarah reminded him of his goals and tried to have him commit to a start day as he had become complacent to achieving them. His response to her was three simple words: “I have time.” Two days after he said this, he was dead and the time he thought he always had was also gone.
Complacency is cancerous and kills before death takes it course. Oftentimes we hear that cancer, discovered at a very early stage, can be contained or even cured. The same theory applies to our lives as youths. Complacency has become the norm in our generation just as Facebook, Twitter, and of course Snapchat have become the norm of the society. Failure to discover the damage caused by spending excessive time on social media, while being complacent to the things that really matter at an early stage, will kill us gradually until death strikes.
So, what really matters that I should not be complacent about? The answer is simple: “My Life.” You cannot afford to be complacent about your life. My advice is that you find yourself a room, shut the doors, and ask yourself the “Me-in-5-Years” questions:
- Can I be better than I am today? (If your answer is yes, proceed to the next four questions. If your answer is no, you can save yourself some time by not reading the preceding questions.)
- What do I want to become in the next 5 years? In other words, what are your goals for the next 5 years?
- How do I plan on achieving these goals?
- Do I have the right people around to help me achieve these goals?
- Am I ready to be committed to achieving these goals?
Like James, we all think we have time but the honest truth is that we do not. Kick out complacency in your life, ask yourself the “Me-in-5-Years” questions, be determined, and I know you will be successful.