Arnold went through the article he had written and he felt he had done a good job. He definitely would get the praise of the editor, he felt. But he had the shock of his life when the editor felt that his article was not up to the mark and gave the article back to Arnold to polish it up. What made Arnold go wrong in his writing? He was always appreciated for his writing and so he had become complacent in his work.
· What is the difference between complacency and satisfaction? Satisfaction with life is necessary for you to feel happy. Without satisfaction you are bound to feel restless and wanting. Your mind keeps on craving for more and you feel others are better off than you. You should feel satisfied with what you have got and this does not mean you should not work hard to go further up in life. · Satisfaction is a sense of fulfillment with what you are bestowed with. For example, you wanted to buy a big car, but since your financial position will not allow it, you buy a smaller car. Is your achievement any smaller? Of course it isn’t .You will not enjoy the car you bought if you feel that you should have purchased the car you wanted and curse yourself. You will miss enjoying the car with the additional burden of frustration building in you as your mind yearns for what you do not have. · Without satisfaction there will only be displeasure and frustration in your life. Satisfaction gives you the energy to work hard and improve in your life. Your mind is relaxed and you can take steps to further go up in life. But complacency is entirely different. It is reconciliation of what you have got and it has the stamp of failure in it. · When you are complacent you make mistakes and accept it as a part of life. In your smugness you fail to see the pitfalls in your way and you fall into the valley of failure. Your work efficiency suffers and whatever you do will be mediocre to say the least. You reconcile yourself to failure and you do not want to go further ahead. · To be reconciled to your fate or failure is a worst sign of submissiveness. Do not bow to your failure, improvise and try to be successful. Complacency in work makes your colleagues forge ahead of you, whereas complacency in your family makes your life mundane and lifeless. Satisfaction is the result of perfection and excellence. · Satisfaction in life is necessary to see fulfillment. Without fulfillment you will feel a sense of vacuum in life and you are always seeking something which you do not have. When you are satisfied with your spouse, there is love, when you are satisfied with your job, you work hard, and when you are satisfied with your life you cherish it. · Complacency has a marginal difference from satisfaction. When you are complacent in your work, you are second-rate, when you are complacent with your spouse; you take everything for granted and when you are complacent about your life, you fail to succeed.
So you should be able to discern this thin dividing line between complacency and satisfaction. Be satisfied with what you have got to be able to value what you have and forgo complacency to make you successful in an authentic way.