Why Are We So Lazy

How do we define lazy?

As per Oxford Dictionary, we call a person lazy when he is unwilling to work or use energy. Laziness is characterized by lack of effort or activity.

Is laziness just a habit?

Jason Selk, St. Louis Cardinals Mental Training Director, also Owner and President of Enhanced Performance explains “Laziness is not a personality disorder. It’s just a habit. Lazy thinking and lazy behaviour, like any other habits, can be broken. Laziness isn’t something we’re born with. It’s a behaviour we learned along the way.”

What makes a person lazy?

What is it that leads a person to inaction? A person may be unwilling to work or use energy for short duration under peculiar circumstances or it is also possible that longer period of inaction has developed into a habit of laziness. There could be several reasons for laziness.

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In offices, you will find some people who always try various excuses to avoid taking additional work. They believe if they take a new task, then ultimately they will be made responsible for that task on a daily basis. They fail to realize that those who are reluctant to take additional job responsibilities at work will ultimately be ignored by their bosses for promotions and better appraisals.

Another reason for such behaviour is that they fear the more work they do more will be the chances of making mistakes. So it is better to shy away from new tasks. Actually, only those who work make mistakes. And Management knows it very well. Moreover mistakes always give you an opportunity to learn and grow. Hence we should overcome this fear of making mistakes if we want to grow.

Many times people prefer inaction because they believe they are not competent enough to accomplish the task. Their lack of Self Confidence leads to reluctance to perform task. They need to understand that experience comes through action only. We have to make a first attempt at whatever we want to achieve. We may fail or we may succeed in first attempt. It is immaterial. Even if we fail, ultimately we will succeed in following attempts. So what is important is to make a start.

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Some people have developed the habit of laziness because they have certain health issue which affects their performance and restricts their ability to act fast.

There are others who are not willing to change. They have become lazy because their mind-set is just not ready to accept changes. They are happy to lead a life of misery but not willing to bring positive changes in their life.

How to overcome laziness?

Take action – No doubt planning is important. But planning without execution won’t yield any results. You need to take action. So the first step is realization on our part that we have become lazy. The next step is to identify the reasons leading to the habit of laziness. This will help us take necessary corrective actions.

Overcome fear of failure – Fear of failure delays our response to problematic situations and difficult goals. But all this while, our mind won’t stop worrying. If you actually think, you will find that it is a lot easier to actually face a problem/challenge in life than to try to avoid that problem. The time spent in fear of failure just sucks happiness from your life. The moment you are ready to face a problem with a positive mind-set, nature will come to your rescue with multiple solutions to your problem. So it’s better to give it a try.

Break bigger goals into smaller achievable tasks – For goals/challenges which requires greater efforts or are difficult to handle, for most of us obvious reaction is to avoid it if possible. Our mind-set finds it difficult to achieve bigger goals. It gets scared thereby giving us numerous reasons why we should abandon that goal. Hence it makes sense to break bigger goals into smaller achievable tasks. Take small steps. Taste success with small achievable tasks.

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Take the feel of success - Feeling of being successful and sense of accomplishment is amazing. The more you succeed in your life, the more motivated you are to take new challenges. You just need to start on the journey of success with small achievable goals and then there will be no looking back.

Observe successful people around you - In all walks of life, you will find majority who are mediocre in their field and select few who are at top and doing exceptionally well. Make it a habit to observe successful people around you. They could be businessmen, Professionals, Sports Players, artists, film stars etc. What differentiates Go-getters is their attitude and personality. They have clarity on the basics of how to be successful in their respective fields. And they follow it with a positive mind-set.

If you watch these people, you will find that they enjoy their work and they don’t get tired even after long hours of work. The reason is simple. They are enjoying success. The sense of achievement keeps them highly motivated and keeps them going. You will always find them charged up. You will find them always motivated and having positive attitude. They believe challenges are bound to come. You cannot avoid them. What you can do is to find ways and means to handle challenges and find solutions to the problems. And that is their job.

These were some of my thoughts on laziness. I am sure you all would have devised your own ways to handle laziness. I would love to hear your experiences in handling this issue through your comments.  

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