#defiance #challenge #complacency #acceptance
When we think of defiance, we think of fighting back against someone or something in authority. People defy dictators. Children defy parents, teachers etc.
In other words, we think of defiance as a bad thing. (We certainly don’t want to raise defiant toddlers).
When we challenge something, we take on the status quo. We stand up for what’s right, against what’s wrong. South Africans challenged apartheid. American blacks challenged racism etc. We think of challenge as a good thing.
As adults, we defy evil and challenge for the good. Perhaps we challenge ourselves to defy those things that are keeping us from being the best we can be.
The opposite of defiance is complacency. The opposite of challenge is acceptance.
The question, therefore, becomes: are we too afraid to defy what is, even though it’s not doing right by us? Do we dare not challenge ourselves to go over or around what is, to make our lives better?
We all have different situations. Some of our situations are good, and worth maintaining, like a good-paying job we enjoy.
For many of us, our situations need, or require, change. Perhaps we’ve let change happen to us, thinking, although we don’t like what’s happening, there’s nothing we can do about it. We accept, rather than challenge. We become complacent, rather than defiant.
Very likely, in whatever situation you are in, there is SOMETHING you can do to change it for the better. You don’t have to wish for better circumstances to come your way. You can create better circumstances by challenging yourself to be a little defiant.
Too often, we are taught by our elders not to challenge, not to be defiant. You’ve all heard the expressions, “keep your nose to the grindstone,” or “keep your head low,” or “don’t make waves.” If you do those things, you’ll stay out of trouble.
Today, however, particularly in the workplace, that advice can produce no fruit. Some very hard-working people may wake up one morning, go to work as usual, only to find they are suddenly out of a job.
The complacent ones, those who accept what is, pack up their things, go home, complain, cry etc., and start to think that life as they knew it is over.
Defiant ones, those who’ve challenged themselves, have not only anticipated that circumstance, they’ve prepared for it. Perhaps they’ve spent some part-time, off-work hours creating a secondary income – perhaps even one that dwarfs their salaries.
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The lesson here is perhaps that many people accept what is, and become complacent. When change occurs, they don’t take it well and long for the old days that will never come back.
Defiant ones realize that change happens often. They prepare for the day when their good situations disappear, or change for the worse. Perhaps they don’t know when it will happen, but they realize that someday it will. When it does, they challenge themselves to become even better than they were.
Defiance in young children may not be desirable, but you may want to raise your children to become defiant adults. You do that by being defiant yourself. Let the children watch you overcome obstacles. Let them watch you challenge yourself to turn a bad situation into something that makes you better.
If you challenge yourself to become defiant, you may find yourself in a great situation you had never believed possible.
Peter