Laziness has always been considered a sin, a flaw of human nature. She was condemned in Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. They called it idleness, despondency and condemned any manifestation or weakness.
During communism, laziness was equated with sabotage. Lazy people were called parasites - those who take advantage of the labor of others. Under capitalism, laziness is a sure path to poverty and wasting your life. In a word, laziness was a real evil that was worth fighting.
Now the lazy lifestyle is still in the same, no better, situation. Yes, they justify it by calling laziness the engine of progress, but is this really so? The psychology of laziness is a rather interesting topic to think about, especially if you yourself love to soak in bed.
Let's finally find out what laziness is, what its nature is, and is it so bad to surrender into its arms from time to time?
Laziness
Published: 12/13/2010 20:28
A defect or a protective reaction of the body?
Often, many people perceive laziness as a negative phenomenon, since during this state there is a lack of hard work, and a person prefers rest to work. On the other hand, laziness is also considered as the body’s reaction to excessive performance in people who are too busy and active.
When is laziness a negative phenomenon, and when does it act as a defense for the body? Let's look at this in more detail.
Signs of developing laziness
It is not difficult to recognize a lazy person.
One has only to look at his daily routine and the percentage of idle time per day. This does not mean at all that such a person is only capable of lying, motionless, for hours in bed and flapping his eyelids. Modern technologies have long invented ways for lazy people to “actively” spend their leisure time without making significant efforts. These include TV, the Internet, and computer games. If you look from a purely physical point of view, there are really few motor actions while using these modern innovations.
Lazy people put off more important or complex tasks “for later” and do not pay due attention to them. They usually avoid responsibility for punctually fulfilling any agreement or task, and rarely perform urgent work.
But, as they say, laziness is the engine of progress. Many convenient devices that reduce human labor and simplify tasks were invented by lazy people. They didn't want to do more than necessary. From the wheel to modern robots that do housework... Special mechanisms are capable of carrying out those tasks that require routine expenditure of energy and effort.
It is easier for lazy people to come up with a way to make a task easier for themselves than to do it as required. Sometimes it takes even longer than doing it, but it's usually worth it. It is easier to be convinced a thousand times that it is impossible to bypass the execution of something than to do it.
At work, such people maintain a slow pace, but rarely get out of the rut. They do just enough to avoid being scolded, and not a bit more. They value their time and energy above all else.
Laziness is a vice
Laziness manifests itself differently for everyone. You've probably met many people who like to take time off from work under any pretext; they are often said to be lazy people. In this case, laziness is more of a disadvantage. The person does not want to make any effort to complete the task. It is necessary to get rid of such laziness so as not to turn into an “amoeba” and not to stop developing as a person because of this vice. A typical example of this type of laziness was a literary character like Oblomov.
Common causes of pathological laziness
The causes are varied and most often affect adults, but can also, although with less frequency, occur in children and the elderly.
Here are the most common ones.
- The desire for passivity. Leading a serene life, postponing everything until later are the main manifestations of pathological laziness. The pathological lazy person even picks up the remote control from the coffee table with his toes, like a skilled juggler, so as not to get up!
- We have too many responsibilities. It may be that daily activities (work, social life, sports, family obligations, etc.) can be so burdensome that they put our brain into a state of procrastination. The mind, protecting itself from overload, simply does nothing. In this case, laziness is an important signal that the body sends to us, trying to tell us to slow down a little.
- We experience fear or anxiety about certain things, people and/or situations. The new boss seems sullen and conflicted. The university teacher is looking for you with a menacing look and it seems that he will definitely “fail” the exam. The deadline for filing tax returns is approaching. Today you can find many reasons that cause fear, psychomotor agitation, anxiety and stress in us every day. For some people, this leads to problems with sleep and stimulates a kind of hyperactivity; for others, it acts as a powerful inhibitor, developing a state of pathological laziness.
- Living in a state of depression and denial of reality. Of course, true depression is a rarer cause of inaction and apathy, but it is the most serious. There can be many reasons for depression, from hormonal imbalances in the brain to difficult life situations that force you to completely abandon the reality in which you live. Even in these cases, one of the most obvious manifestations of discomfort is precisely pathological laziness.
Laziness is a means of defense
There is another type of this condition - laziness as a protective reaction of the body. There are people who constantly work without knowing any days off; these are the so-called workaholics. But you shouldn’t think that such people cannot be lazy. Sometimes they too have a state when they don’t want to do anything and it can be extremely difficult to step over it. In this case, laziness acts more like a defensive reaction of the body, which is tired of overexertion and requires rest and rest for a while. In this case, there is no need to resist the needs of your body, it is better to follow the lead. The main thing is that this need does not drag on for a long time, otherwise laziness from a defensive reaction can imperceptibly develop into a negative phenomenon.
Method 4: Take breaks
Allowing yourself to be lazy is a great way to cope with laziness! True, it should be borne in mind that this does not mean that now you can do nothing for a very long time. You can allow yourself a “lazy moment” for a short time. So, for example, if you are too lazy to do a report at work, but want to drink coffee or immerse yourself in social networks, you should allow yourself a few minutes of break, for example, disconnect from work for 20 minutes. But the issue of self-discipline is important here - after 20 minutes you should start working .
Why are we lazy?
Despite the fact that laziness plays different roles, protects a person or becomes his vice, the reasons for its appearance in both the first and second cases are similar. Laziness can often be a consequence of depression. The person is not in the mood, he is in crisis and, therefore, he does not want to do anything, just lie on the bed, and so that no one touches or notices him. This is where his laziness manifests itself. The second reason for laziness, which is mainly identified by psychologists, is lack of motivation. When we don’t see a future result, even an expected one, we sometimes don’t want to do anything. Today, psychologists also identify the cause of laziness as genetic. It is assumed that the predisposition to laziness is laid down from birth. If a person has a history of workaholics in his family, then it is more likely that he himself will grow up to be a hard worker and vice versa. There are other reasons for laziness, such as lack of willpower, fatigue, fear of responsibility and much more.
Defensive reaction
A person always tends to do what he most wants or needs at the moment. Sometimes we act through force, but if we force ourselves too often to do something we don’t feel like doing, the body experiences stress, resources are depleted, and fatigue sets in. And here laziness arises as a psychological defense.
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It is, in essence, not a cause, but a consequence of a specific problem: a discrepancy between one’s own desires and the expectations of others, overwork, and so on. If it is very difficult for a person to implement any tasks that simply need to be done, and this causes anxiety, it is worth dealing with the root cause.
You need to fight laziness, but it is important to do it correctly. All attempts to do something through force are usually completely useless. On the contrary, they lead to the fact that a person wants to close himself even more in his shell.
What ways can help?
Question answer
How to force yourself to work?
What effect does laziness have on a person?
If we consider laziness as a negative phenomenon, then, of course, it has an impact on a person and sometimes not the best. As you know, great potential is hidden in a person, and sometimes only one’s own laziness prevents him from revealing it.
Sometimes it is better for a person to lie on the bed and watch TV than to do something that does not generate income, but develops him, his skills and abilities; some people spend their whole lives on their favorite sofa.
Fight, lose or negotiate
How to overcome laziness, this eternal enemy of achievements? No way. Moreover, this is not required at all (and let’s be realistic, it is impossible to do this). As mentioned above, laziness, like everything in this world, has two sides to the coin. This means that people should learn to use it for their own purposes and receive certain benefits from this cooperation. It's kind of a symbiosis.
What to do if you are too lazy to even move? You simply lie on the sofa or bed, slowly merging with this comfortable furniture. In the event of such an attack of laziness (not to be confused with real fatigue or poor health!) Try to look at yourself from the outside. So…
Here you are lying, absolutely relaxed, your hair is disheveled... Obviously, it could use styling or at least washing. Are you a man, and beautifully styled hair is not so important? Fine! There is two-, no, five-day stubble on his face. Not very neat either, is it? The skin on your face does not look very fresh... You should do peelings and masks... A peeling manicure does not make you more attractive... And your muscles literally spread across the horizontal surface... Maybe you shouldn’t take the tenth route to the gym?
Your laziness, so sweet and defenseless, lies next to you, on the already, excuse me, slightly smelling bed linen (when was the last time you washed it?).
As a rule, after such visualization a person gets up and starts doing at least something. This does not mean that you will run to the gym or go beat out carpets, but, as they say, the ice will break at least a little, and laziness will go away. Psychology offers many ways to counteract your idleness, but this one is one of the most effective.
Try it for yourself when the moment is right and see the results for yourself.
And remember: laziness, the causes of which are very diverse, is not your enemy. Moreover, with the right interaction, she is your faithful ally and inspirer. If you do not agree with this, proceed to the next section of our article.
How to overcome laziness?
To overcome laziness, you first need to find out its cause. It is based on its cause that it is necessary to choose a way to overcome it. If the reason for your laziness lies in a lack of motivation, then in this case you just need to increase it in every possible way. You need to think about why you need to do this, whether the person for whom you will be doing this is dear to you, and what may follow after completing the task. As soon as you answer these questions and find the arguments you need in them, laziness will recede. But this method of deliverance will not help if the cause of laziness lies in a lack of will. You have a lot of things to do, you know that sooner or later you will have to do it all, but you still can’t force yourself to start doing them. In this case, psychologists advise starting with the simplest task and gradually moving on to more complex ones. Fear of being judged by others for doing a task incorrectly is also considered one of the reasons for laziness. In this case, the person is simply afraid of responsibility, and therefore does not get down to business. This is the most complex reason, which originates from childhood. It usually appears more often in people whose parents cared for them in childhood and protected them from making decisions. This carried over into adulthood and ultimately affects a person’s reality. Here we can talk about self-doubt. In this case, to get rid of laziness, you will have to work on yourself and first get rid of the fear of making decisions.
Method 1: Ask yourself
By answering simple questions, you can identify cause-and-effect relationships and figure out what exactly the problem is. For example, in the office a person cannot begin to implement an important task and instead drinks coffee, goes on “smoking breaks”, and “hangs out” on social networks. He should ask himself: why do I not want to do this so much? Perhaps it's just fatigue and a little rest is needed. Or does the task seem too difficult? In this case, you need to honestly answer the question: what is required for its successful implementation - the help of management and colleagues, knowledge or something else? Or maybe a person has basically stopped enjoying this type of activity? Then you shouldn’t fight laziness, but rather start looking for a new job.
Tomorrow, but not today! How to learn to manage your time effectively?
More details
Laziness is the engine of progress
Laziness was often the engine of progress. Many discoveries, judging by, were made to make human life easier. If you don’t want to walk far, here’s a car; if you don’t want to do laundry by hand, they invented a washing machine. For cooking - microwave and much more. In this case, laziness can be viewed on the positive side. If it weren’t for her, we would probably still be walking and not have much.
Often laziness is a state, as it seems to us, of the present. We often tell ourselves: “today I will rest, and tomorrow I will start doing it.” But tomorrow comes and everything repeats itself again. And if you don’t step over the barrier, the job will never be done. Try to choose interesting things for yourself, then laziness will not arise.
In conclusion, I would like to give some advice. To make it easier to step over your own laziness and get down to business, create as comfortable an environment as possible in your workplace, around yourself, turn on pleasant music that will put you in the right mood, create an additional incentive (for example: after completing the task, I will eat candy). Then it will be much easier for you to get started. If you have a lot of things to do, do them alternately, for 20 minutes each if possible. In this case, you will not get bored with the activity, and laziness will not allow you to take over.
Ekaterina Fateeva
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Method 2: Create conditions
Sometimes little things stop us on the way to the result. For example, if you decide to start going to the gym, then you should plan in advance which days you will be able to train. It is also necessary to notify family and colleagues that classes are scheduled for these specific dates, and nothing should distract from them. You should also prepare everything you need for training. When all the necessary conditions are present for the implementation of an intention, little remains to be done. And there will simply be nowhere to retreat.
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Excessive energy savings
Scientists began to study the phenomenon of energy expenditure relatively recently, about forty years ago. Before this, a rare biologist expressed thoughts about the ability of animals to competently manage their internal resources. But in fact, it turned out that even tiny mice act extremely rationally and try not to waste much energy.
Almost all mammals, when obtaining food, try to develop a route that will not only be as safe as possible, but will also save the creatures the greatest amount of effort. Moreover, animals have learned to find a competent balance and sacrifice strength in exchange for relative calm and vice versa. The principle of saving resources is expressed in almost every action. Moreover, this is also true for birds and some other kingdoms.
“From a biological point of view, laziness is an excessive implementation of the principle of saving energy. All living organisms strive to optimize the ratio of the vital resources received and the energy expended for this, that is, they try to get more by spending less. This pattern is not just a speculative conclusion, but a conclusion made on the basis of measurements,” said Doctor of Biological Sciences Dmitry Zhukov.
Problems arise when laziness becomes an end rather than a means. This is only observed in humans.
According to merit
Consciously or unconsciously, a person constantly conducts a dialogue with himself, tirelessly assessing himself as a person, considering his chances of success. Often such self-esteem turns out to be negative. People who tell themselves: “I will never cope with this job,” “I don’t deserve a high position or salary” are, as it were, programming themselves in advance for failure. In addition, those around you, seeing your lack of confidence in your own abilities, also begin to doubt your merits. Therefore, in order to achieve career success, it is necessary to cultivate self-confidence.
