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How To Overcome Laziness

If you are suffering from the habit of being lazy, you might benefit from the advice I gave to Ashish on overcoming laziness...

Ashish wrote...

> Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 19:34:29 +0530
> From:
> To: wily[at]wilywalnut.com
> Subject: Re: Brain Squeezer 031: The Gurdjieff STOP
 
> how can you help me to overcome my laziness.i am very lazy to do  anything.so,please help me in this regard.
> waiting for a reply

Here is my reply:

Dear Ashish,
 
Thank you for your question. I also experience times of laziness. Here are my observations about it.
 
1. Confusion and lack of clarity
When I have too many ideas rattling around in my head, fighting for my attention, I get overwhelmed and end up not wanting to do anything. In this instance, you have to be like a gardener with an overgrown garden and start pruning things back. The word 'decide' comes from a latin word meaning to cut away from -- meaning you have to cut away the alternatives and focus on the one thing you have decided to do, and do it.
 
2. Lack of perspective
Laziness often requires a shock to your awareness to break you out of the little trance you are in. You are in a comfortable place and you think all is well. But then someone you love dies, or you get a huge bill come in that you don't have money for, and then it's like having a cold shower of reality -- it wakes you up to what you should have been doing.

It's like at school or work where maybe you have a deadline to finish a project by. It's in 2 weeks time, so you think, 'I've got plenty of time' and you goof off playing. But then suddenly you get to the night before the deadline and you suddenly realise how much work you have to do, and the shock wakes you out of your trance, and gets you working flat out to try and get it done in time.

We lazy people have to create for ourselves the ability to think long term (because it doesn't come natural to us). We have to think about what we want, and realise that time is running out, and if we don't do it, we will never experience the things we want to achieve in life.

See article: Fun and Games with the Grim Reaper
http://www.wilywalnut.com/Creative-Grim-Reaper-Death.html
 

3. Power of momentum
When you are lazy, you have to get your energy going faster so that you can get into motion and then let the momentum of your speed keep you moving. If you feel sluggish and lazy, you just have to do something to get moving, like getting up out of the chair, changing your physiology, breathing and moving like someone who is full of energy and dynamism.

Laziness is just a habit, and habits take consistent effort to change for at least 30 days. Just keep moving and focusing on doing one thing after another. It's like stoking a fire, you have to poke the embers to get the flame going again. Or you can think of it like an ox or a donkey where you have to keep slapping it to get it to go faster and faster until it goes from a walk, to a trot, to a canter, to a gallop.

There is an old saying, 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' You have to be like the stone and get rolling, and keep yourself rolling. Avoid the actions or activities that lead to you feeling lazy: don't go to bed late and then sleep in till late in the morning. Stay away from the foods that make you feel sluggish and lethargic afterwards. Avoid the people that bring you down to their level. Make choices that support and enhance your life rather than dragging it down. Surely that is the intelligent way to live.

There is another saying, 'If you want something done, ask a busy man.' What that means is the busy man is in motion already, and he can quickly respond to your request and do the task quickly with little fuss. On the other hand the person who isn't busy and occupied makes a big deal out of simple tasks, and puts them off, or takes ages with them.

Become busy, keep your energy flowing, stay in motion through the day. The mind loves to be occupied, purposeful and focused -- these give it great energy and a sense of meaning.
 
4. Emotional Spurs
Another good way to get yourself going is by comparing yourself to others. There comes a point where your laziness really hurts your self-esteem because you will find yourself getting left behind by your peers. They will go on to have successes in business, education, art, science, sports or whatever. They will learn new skills, or help create new products, and they will get to experience things that you don't... and suddenly your story is not so interesting anymore and you will realise how your laziness is hurting you and keeping you back. We mistake laziness for freedom. It is not.
This aspect of life is particularly noticeable if you are wanting to attract a partner. If you are lazy, you will have very little to offer them.

 
5. Reframing situations
Laziness is often quite selective. A man is lazing on a bench because he doesn't want to paint the wall but if a beautiful woman appears and asks for his help, he will jump up and help her (suddenly finding the energy!). What we have to do is find the thing(s) that we love to do, and see if there is anyway that we can do that as a career.

And if we have a career that we do not care for, we have to try and reframe it so that we have more energy and enthusiasm for it. This just takes creative use of the mind to think in a different way about the work.

Let's say that I want to be a computer programmer, but I have no skills yet and the only work I can get is digging ditches. It's filthy work and I hate it. I drag my feet on the way to work. I have no enthusiasm for the job. But it's what I'm doing so somehow I want to make the best of it. I can think how lucky I am to have a job at all. I can think about how the money I earn helps to feed and clothe me. I can think about how I am keeping healthier through all the exercise I get. I can think about how nice it is to be out in the fresh air. I can think about how this is giving me the income to afford to do computer classes at night. You get the idea.

Changing your thoughts changes the way you perceive the world. Positive thoughts give you more energy and enthusiasm, causing you to do more and be more active.
 
That's enough to be going on with. Keep me updated with your reactions to these suggestions, and let me know your own tips for overcoming laziness.
 
With very best wishes,
Wily Walnut

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Wily Walnut is the headbrain at http://www.WilyWalnut.com , your top resource for unleashing the genius within, becoming infinitely creative, intelligent and brilliant in all that you do!

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