Complacency is supposed to give us a peace of mind or some self satisfaction, but often there’re twists and turns behind unfinished business. Life never ceases to surprise us in its mysterious way. You’ll never know what’s around the corner.
It’s not done till it’s done.
Funnily enough, what comes to mind when I think of complacency is basketball games. Skills are important of course, there’s no argument about it. But that thing aside, at the end what separates a winner and a loser in the court is complacency.
Say, when a team is leading by a good margin 5 minutes before the game finishes, if they think it’s in the bag and begin to show sign of complacency. It’s a red flag. It can all go downhill from there. As long as their opponent perseveres unrelentingly till the last second, they can still turn the tables, and come out as a dark horse, a winner.
Lately, we’ve seen a massive second wave of coronavirus outbreak after an easing of pandemic restrictions in many parts of world. In the state of Victoria in Australia, it came as a big blow when a surge of people infected resurfaced in the last two weeks or so. At one point, the number of daily new cases even broke the record.
Evidently, the time we loosened up and acted carelessly, it was also the time when the coronavirus found the opportunity to slip through the cracks and launched a sudden attach. We don’t want our complacency to become a breeding ground for the coronavirus to regrow and wipe out our previous efforts that led to flattening the curve.
It’s safe to say, the worst is not over yet. We’re all in this together for the long haul. There’s really no place for complacency in any shape or form.
We can’t wait for life to return to normal again. When will it happen? It’s a big ask. No experts can tell you exactly. For now, rather than being complacent prematurely, let’s make efforts, every step of the way, till it’s done and dusted, ripe for celebration…
Ted Tsai 