Whether or Not Laziness Truly Exists

Perhaps each of us has heard the collocation “a lazy person.” Many even consider themselves or their friends to be lazy. However, one person is called lazy because they don’t wash the dishes after themselves, while another person might be called lazy for not getting a Master’s degree. So laziness is unique for each person.

With 5-Minute Crafts you’ll learn what laziness is and whether it really exists.

What laziness is all about

We call laziness a state where a person doesn’t want to do anything. Experts define this state the following way — unwillingness to spend your energy on performing some task.

Many of us have learned the idea of laziness in childhood. When we didn’t want or couldn’t do something, adults often told us, “You are simply being lazy.” For example, we could hear the phrase “the child is talented but lazy” from teachers. It means any feelings that stopped us from doing something were called laziness. But is it true?

Does laziness really exist?

Today, the question of whether laziness really exists arises more and more often. Many experts confidently claim that laziness doesn’t exist. They say that people often think that laziness is an integral part of their character and that their procrastination is caused by this feature.

One psychologist outlines that the definition of the state of laziness describes only the bunch of so-called symptoms but doesn’t explain the reason itself.

What causes a lazy condition

Procrastination, avoiding, refusal of responsibility, etc are often called laziness. As a rule, none of these states manifests itself for no reason. It’s likely that they are caused by the following factors.

• Low motivation is believed to be the first reason for so-called laziness or the aforementioned conditions. In this case, the increase in motivation can help solve the issue.
• Fear is the second reason for laziness. In this case, motivation is normally quite high but there is something stronger than this motivation for people — it’s fear. A person might be afraid of anything like judgment, critics, laughs, loneliness, etc.
• Tiredness. We should always remember that anyone needs rest. A person can’t always show 100% productivity. Sooner or later their body and mind will start protesting and become “lazy.” Keep in mind that each of us needs time to relax and restore ourselves.
• Unwillingness. Another reason for so-called laziness can be a usual unwillingness. Perhaps you simply don’t feel like attending dancing classes with your friend because you don’t like dancing in general.
  

In order to move from this point and stop feeling lazy, procrastinating, and putting off things, one should make an effort. You need to understand the reason for your laziness. Perhaps you are feeling scared or don’t feel motivated enough, or you might be simply tired. If you can’t deal with it yourself, and your laziness prevents you from having a normal life, perhaps it’s worth seeing a specialist.

How to cope with laziness

Experts recommend 2 strategies that let overcome laziness.

• Start. As a rule, the most difficult thing is to start. It sounds quite simple but required a big effort. So, you can start with the following.

1. Agree to a meeting with someone you don’t want to let down. Of course, this person should take some part in the upcoming endeavor or event.
2. Share intentions and goals with others. Later they are likely to ask you about how the endeavor is going.
3. Pay the event/ activity/ class up front. It will be easier to refuse it in this case.

• Imagine yourself in the past, present, and future. When putting off a difficult task today, you create an issue for yourself in the future that should anyway be solved. For example, unwillingness to learn a foreign language today can deprive you of an interesting job, a higher income, and the opportunity to travel in the future.