Where Does Laziness Come From? And How Do We Defeat It?

Article in brief: Laziness is a struggle to many people, but where does ‘Laziness’ come from? And can people overcome it?

The act of ‘Laziness’ has many names, and is sometimes referred to as procrastination, lack of motivation, indolence, but all those terms mean one thing: the lack of doing something despite having the ability to do so.

Scientifically speaking, the part of the brain related to ‘Laziness’ is that of motivation, so in science the opposite of ‘Laziness’ is motivation, and despite the many theories linking motivation to pleasure, such as Sigmund Freud’s theory on pleasure principle, ‘Laziness’ (or lack of motivation) is a struggle everyone faces.

The reasons behind lack of motivation are various, but some of the obvious ones are:

• Lack of self-confidence – the person has no belief in their ability.
• Lack of support – no emotional support to help in the task.
• Lack of Recognition – no one will recognize the accomplishment.
• Lack of self-discipline – the person has no control over him/herself.
• Lack of interest – having no interest in the task.
• Lack of value – the weight of the finished task bears little or no worth.

Many religions have fought ‘Laziness’ in their calling, in Islam the opposite of ‘Laziness’ is Jihad al-Nafs, which means the struggle against ones own will, one of the ways Muslims attack ‘Laziness’ is by praying five times a day and by fasting during Ramadan.

In order to wiggle out of the ‘Laziness’ and get into being more motivated, here are some do’s and don’ts.

Do: set weekly goals to avoid finding at the end of the week that very little was accomplished; setting goals for every week paves a clear path to the tasks to be done. Do: allocate times for things as when knowing there is a set time to work and a set time to socialize it becomes easier to focus on the job in hand. Do: have “lazy” days after a productive week, a reward to oneself. Whether this day is spent on the beach with friends or in front of the TV, the idea is to take a day off and relax.

Now for the Don’ts: Don’t take a break once you start unless the task is done or a big part of it has been accomplished. Breaks will make it just as difficult to start working again. Don’t have a “lazy” day for nothing; this will result in wanting to do nothing even more. Don’t interrupt the train of thoughts because once you are on track things will easily fall in place, the more the train of thoughts is interrupted the more difficult it becomes to stay focused.

Although tricky, ‘Laziness’ can be defeated by having the will to accomplish the task and the motivation that there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Dictionary:

• Laziness: averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.
• Act: anything done

References

• Laziness – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laziness
• Navarro, J., & M.A.. (n.d.). Laziness: Fact or Fiction? | Psychology Today.Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/200806/laziness-fact-or-fiction
• Young, S. (n.d.). 11 Tips for Nuking Laziness Without Becoming a Workaholic – Lifehack. Lifehack – Tips for Life. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/11-tips-for-nuking-laziness-without-becoming-a-workaholic.html