Complacency is my enemy - By Simon Harris

Motivation to me is to keep improving, after re-reading that line it now sounds very cliché but I also feel that improvement is something that is not really looked upon enough, complacency is my main opponent in my life, and a place I constantly work to avoid in my everyday life. The topic of Complacency is something in and of itself I try to discuss with those around me as much as I can, because I have always felt a need for more in this world. Be it self-discovery, self-improvement, societal improvement, gaining more knowledge about our reality, improving our collective realities, etc. To go along with this there is a quote that I heard from one of my favorite artists Trent Reznor that has always resonated with me, which is: “try to put yourself self in uncomfortable situations. Complacency is my enemy.” This is a line, in my opinion, that really leads to work ethic directly. The desire to never be “comfortable” with where you are. Something that I refuse to allow happen to myself or ever want associated with myself is the feeling of self-righteousness. From a young age I’ve always been taught by my Mother that it is extremely important to expand in all aspects, there is a very large “stay at home culture” where I am from, as to where many people don’t really leave the area/they stay local and build a life there, which is completely fine for many. But, for myself I’ve always wanted to see and experience everything imaginable that this beautiful world has to offer. I never want to be in a situation where someone views me as being stagnant so I constantly want to keep developing.

My 100-year-old Great Grandmother starting from back when I was very young has always told me to “Go create what you want out of life”. As weird as it sounds, she always said it to close conversations. And up until I was in high school I would always wonder why. She always has told me that there are billions of people in the world that are okay with average. She always said if you’re okay with average that is fine, but if you want to be better than average, make yourself better than average and never settle for just okay. With all that being said, I feel the pursuit of your dream, whatever that may be, is what makes us who we are. Achieving whatever it is that motivates you, is what makes us most human. To get to the level of happiness and accomplishment that motivates you to do more!

I am a firm believer in the law of attraction and constantly allowing yourself to seize opportunities when they present themselves. To always see the positives in every situation you face on a daily basis. I have a family friend who didn’t have the best path in life early on, and I had the opportunity to sit down with him back in 2010 when I was transitioning from playing basketball overseas into playing in the NFL, that opened my eyes to it. I have always been a positive thinker and felt that being that way and viewing things in that light made the day to day much easier. But, when I had the opportunity to really get in depth with the concept and see the real life application of how it affected his life for the better, it really illuminated the mental light bulb even more for me. I have been very fortunate in life to not be someone who wants to try things, I have always looked at different things I wanted to do in life and have just kind of done them. My mother and I used to discuss it when I was little, I have always felt that people set goals or have a list of dream scenarios they try to obtain, I personally have always believed that if you want something bad enough you can make it happen in some shape or fashion. The worst thing someone can say to you is “no”, “no” is something that I’ve heard thousands maybe even millions of times in my 30 years on this Earth, but I feel it’s necessary to keep pursuing what you desire until someone tells you yes. Finding or creating your “YES”, is something that I value dearly and encourage everyone to pursue. 

Simon Harris is the assistant women's basketball coach at the University of Dayton.  A graduate of NC State University where he also played basketball, Coach Harris also spent time playing pro basketball in Ireland and despite not playing football in HS or college he spent some time with the Dallas Cowboys.