Are you Lazy? Is that bad?
When I was a child, my Mother told me I was lazy. I know she had enough evidence to support her claim, yet I’m also sure her intent was not to hurt me, or for that message to stay with me into adulthood — but, it did. Now, when I want to just lay on the couch and watch TV in my pajamas – I feel too anxious to enjoy it. It would be lazy and I am not lazy.
I’ve considered laziness bad in my book, as it was certainly what I learned from my Mother. I now feel this need to keep busy, to stay focused, and to be productive. All of that is not bad! But, what I have not given myself is a chance to just do nothing at times. Sometimes, I don’t want to take that walk or read that article. Sometimes, I want to simply take it easy and give myself time to float. I know that recharging your battery is needed, and it’s inportant to give your body and mind time to rest. Even knowing that, I hear that nagging voice in my head saying, ‘If you do that – ‘you are lazy’ and being lazy is bad.”
When Executives are interviewed about what makes them productive, most of them mention some type of quiet time. They say that they get clarity, focus, or an answer to some critical issue they’ve been dealing with. You could say – they allow themselves ‘time to float’ for a little while. It’s in our downtime that new ideas come to us, that solutions to problems just appear. What if we could pay attention to the gift that allowing ourselves to be lazy can give us?
I offer this to you: Consider what messages you were given – unintentionally — by people in your life that mattered, such as your parents, a teacher or a minister. Who left you with a limiting belief that is getting in the way of you enjoying your life to the fullest? Ask yourself if that message is still accurate today. Maybe it’s true for you somedays, or maybe not at all. The option we have is to change our perspective.
Some questions to consider:
— What messages have I been given that I believe to be true about myself? For example: I am lazy; I am not good at math; I have no common sense; etc.
— Question if those beliefs are really true.
— Question if they are true, are they bad traits
— Make a list of what traits you have that you are proud of
— Make a list of those traits you are not proud of – why not?
— Consider owning the ones that are true that you are not proud of – they are a part of what makes you special. Just as lazy is just a part of me – it does not define me.
Today, I am enjoying a new-found comfortableness with being lazy. I choose to be lazy today. I have changed my perspective on it, and I like the idea of embracing my lazy parts.
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