Laziness : What it really means

Funny laziness photo

Are you lazy?  Do you know someone who is lazy?  In the fitness industry, its very easy to quickly call all people who dont exercise enough lazy.  But thats a little short sighted.  When you’ve done this for long enough you start to understand the complexities of being human far better than most.  And usually what appears to be laziness is something far deeper and requires some digging and understanding in order to change..

I can’t remember exactly where i got these 3 classifications from, i think it was Pema Chodron but am not 100% sure.  Either way they are great and just might help you understand yourself, or those around you a little better.  And when you can do this, you might just show a little more compassion, as you never know what some people are going through…

Where is your laziness really coming from?

Comfort Orientation

The first kind of laziness, comfort orientation, is based on our tendency to avoid inconvenience. We want to take a rest, to give ourselves a break. But soothing ourselves, lulling ourselves, becomes a habit and we become jaded and lazy. If it’s raining we drive half a block rather than get wet. At the first hint of heat, we turn on the air conditioner. At the first threat of cold, we turn up the heat. In this way we lose touch with the texture of life. We trust the quick “Upper” and become accustomed to automatic results.

This particular brand of laziness can make us aggressive. We become outraged at inconvenience. When the car doesn’t work, when we lose our water or electric service, when we have to sit on the cold ground without padding, we explode. Comfort orientation dulls our appreciation of smells and sights and sounds. It also makes us dissatisfied. Somehow we always know in our hearts that pure pleasure is not the route to lasting happiness.

Loss of Heart

The second kind of laziness is loss of heart. We feel a sense of hopelessness, of “poor me.” We feel so poverty stricken that we aren’t up to dealing with the world. We sit in front of the television eating, drinking, and smoking, mindlessly watching show after show. We cant bring ourselves to do anything to ventilate our loss of heart. Even if we manage to crank ourselves up and open the window, we do it with a sense of shame. We make an outer gesture of breaking through laziness, but still hold that essence of hopelessness inside. That gesture of cranking up or pushing through is still an expression of loss of heart. We are still saying to ourselves, “I’m the worst. There’s no hope for me. Ill never get it right.” Thus we don’t really give ourselves a break. We’ve forgotten how to help ourselves; we lack insight into what would bring us true relief.

Couldn’t Care Less

The third kind of laziness, “couldnt care less,” is characterized by resentment. We are giving the world the finger. It’s similar to loss of heart but much harder. Loss of heart has some kind of softness and vulnerability. Couldnt careless is more aggressive and defiant. “The world is messed up. It’s not giving me what i deserve. So why bother?” We go to the bar and drink all day long, and if someone talks to us we pick a fight. Or we shut the curtains, get into bed, and pull the blankets over our heads. If someone tries to cheer us up, heaven help him! We wallow in feeling undervalued and put down. We dont want to find any outlet. We use laziness as our way of getting revenge. This kind of laziness can easily turn into incapacitating depression. 

Does that help you understand yourself or someone you know better?  I hope so.

See you in the gym

Brad

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