We all get complacent sometimes. We fall into a comfort zone, and stop pushing ourselves to achieve our goals. Last week I realized I’ve gotten complacent, too. After speaking at ConvergeSE in June, I decided to take a few weeks off, spend a little time with my family, and reevaluate my priorities. After a year of promoting my book, including 22 speaking engagements, I needed a break.

But somehow, a break of a few weeks turned into a few months. I stopped focusing on finding speaking engagements, and as a result, by the time I speak again it will have been almost 3 months. A lot can happen in three months! Every professional speaker I know says that you have to keep practicing, keep working on your craft.

There’s also the loss of momentum that comes from slowing down or stopping for a few months. When my book published last June, promotion started out a little slow. The more I traveled and spoke, the more momentum I built up. Toward the end I was speaking 2-3 times per month (which is a lot considering my full-time job and other commitments). Then nothing. For three months.

It’s going to be tough, but I’m already working on getting that momentum back. I do have several speaking engagements already in October (and am still interested in speaking in September if the right opportunity presents). Going forward, I’m going to be sure to not get lazy and lose too much momentum.

What have you gotten complacent about lately?