A client I heard from recently was complaining about how he wasn’t getting critical money-related tasks done in his business: “My problem is that I’m lazy–I just can’t seem to stay focused or get started on doing the important things.”
It’s no wonder he thought this–all the messages coming at us from popular culture tell us that if we’re not doing what we’re supposed to be doing, we’re lazy.
I’m Going to Tell You Right Now, I Don’t Believe in Lazy
What is laziness? Back to my well-thumbed American Heritage Dictionary: “Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.”
Okay, I accept the first part of the definition: “resistant.” But NOT disposed to idleness. How many people in business do you know who are disposed to idleness? Out of the hundreds of people I’ve worked with, I haven’t seen anyone prefer to sit around all day, for days on end, with their hands in their back pocket.
Sure, maybe you are working on ineffective things. Or are paralyzed because of indecision. But lazy…? I don’t think so.
If You Think You’re Lazy, Do Nothing for One Week
Nothing. Don’t clean the house. Don’t make any phone calls. Don’t surreptitiously work on your marketing. Don’t even think about any of this. If you can do this for one week, even then you aren’t lazy, you’re probably just enlightened. 😉
Okay, so what is this thing that we call “lazy”? It’s resistance. So if we’re resistant, especially if we’re unconsciously resistant, it’s probably a good idea to find out why.
In every case, when I’ve looked at the situation for myself or a client, the resistance was a healthy (healthy!) stopping point, because our beings didn’t want to move forward and jump over a necessary step.
Remember my new client who thought he was lazy? When we looked, we saw a crucial self-care issue that he had been unconsciously trying to jump over. If he had actually moved forward into action without dealing with this self-care piece, he would have perhaps gotten those tasks done, but at the cost of burning-out and disconnected from his heart.
If you are calling yourself lazy, I think it’s time to acknowledge your resistance as healthy, and see what your heart doesn’t want you to miss.
Keys to Lazy
- Many issues of laziness actually have to do with forgotten self-care issues.
While you aren’t getting something done, feeling more and more frantic or judgmental about it, you are probably also feeling depleted. Notice the depletion–what do you need to care for yourself?
No, I’m not necessarily talking about a week’s vacation or a dozen chocolate cookies (although that might be a part of it.) Rather I’m thinking your heart is needing some acknowledgment, some love and acceptance,that you’re not bad or wrong for not having done it yet.
And is there some jewel forgotten at your feet that you’ve missed, that your heart is asking you to pick up before moving forward? Take a few moments with your heart and ask, “What am I needing to recognize, pick up, or accept before moving forward with this?”
What does your heart say?
- Try breaking it down.
Whatever it is that you aren’t getting to, perhaps in reality it’s more than one thing. For instance, that bookkeeping task you’ve been meaning to get to, it’s not just sitting down and entering the information. It’s five other tasks, including dealing with that gosh-darned accounting program that doesn’t make any sense. Or it means acknowledging a debt you owe that you’ve been perhaps uncomfortable to look in the eye.
Ahhh! That’s what was stopping the email–you aren’t lazy, you are uncomfortable dealing with the software or the debt. Make space in your heart, and face the discomfort.
What is your heart needing here in order to face this issue?
Laziness is this blanket judgment we put on ourselves for not “just doing it.” In reality, there’s either a missing piece that we don’t want to miss, or some discomfort that we’re not yet willing to face.
Slow down, break it down, listen to your heart, and then see if it’s easier to move forward through your money, marketing, or other business projects.
