The vast majority of people are familiar with the viscous, dampening feeling of laziness. This sensation can occur quite predictably or suddenly; may concern what we “need” to do, but “don’t want to”, and even what seems to be a desirable thing to do: for example, a walk on a day off or a visit to a cafe after a hard day. In this article, we will look behind the facade of the phenomenon called “laziness” and try to understand what is hidden behind it and prevents us from vigorously moving along the intended path of our goals and objectives.
And in the online program “Self-Knowledge” you can look deeper inside yourself and get to know the characteristics of your personality, including motivation.
Causes of laziness and ways to combat them
The article “Causes of laziness and ways to combat them” identifies such causes of procrastination as lack of goals, perfectionism, “energy problems,” distractions by unimportant things, “an overwhelming big project.”
It is impossible to take this list of reasons seriously, since it includes phenomena that are incomparable with each other, which themselves can be causes and consequences of each other, and have no direct relationship to laziness. All of the listed “reasons” do not give us the key to looking into the depths of the problem of laziness and clearly answering the question: “Why am I lazy in such important, necessary, desired matters?!”
At best, the list of these “reasons” can be used to try to eradicate the listed problems in ourselves, because if we consider each of the described phenomena separately, it is obvious that they reduce our effectiveness. I think few people will argue with the fact that it is better to have clear goals in life, not to suffer from perfectionism, to competently alternate periods of work and rest, to be purposeful, not to waste time on trifles, but at the same time not to try to embrace the immensity.
As a result of a superficial interpretation of the causes of laziness, the methods of combating laziness proposed in the same article represent some particular attempts to use willpower, time management techniques, behavioral techniques in order to “trick your brain” and still achieve what you need from yourself effort and result.
This approach can be effective in a particular case, but with constant use it can not only lose its strength, but also harm the body, lead to even greater exhaustion, demotivation and the emergence of more and more new ways to avoid solving assigned tasks.
There is motivation, but somewhere not in the place where we would like to see it
Parents often come to me with complaints about their teenage children: they don’t want to study, do minimal schoolwork, are not interested in anything, don’t play sports, and don’t help around the house. In general, my child is lazy and doesn’t want to do anything.
Clarifying the situation, in a conversation we find out that the child is still doing something: he goes to school, does homework, and plays computer games the rest of the time. And he really likes to play, he does it with great enthusiasm and passion. Usually parents ask: “So what should I do about it?”
It is impossible to give a universal recommendation or a clear solution algorithm. But we can say for sure that simply forbidding a child to do what he is really passionate about and interested in, and forcibly leaving him in the world of boring, uninteresting activities is a simple solution, but not the most successful.
Looking for opportunities to use your existing passion to increase motivation for an activity that is so important but of little interest is not easy, but it can be very effective.
Deep Causes of Laziness
To formulate it very briefly, the underlying reason for laziness is one: the discrepancy between our intentions, goals, tasks, aspirations, etc. – our true needs.
In the context of the problem of laziness and its causes under consideration, the most important property of needs is that they are a source of energy, both physical and mental. When our activities and behavior are consistent with our current need, we do not have any problems in carrying out this activity: neither laziness, nor boredom, nor procrastination, nor any other forms of detachment and attempts to delay the inevitable.
If our activities and our behavior are consistent with our current needs, we simply do what we intended. It's really simple. There is a good illustration on this topic: “The most purposeful person is the person who wants to go to the toilet”
Agree, it’s hard to imagine that a person who wants to go to the toilet suddenly gets lazy and doesn’t go anywhere.
All means are good
Stopping being lazy is a kind of good habit, and according to some experts, it is formed within 21 days. This was first discussed by a plastic surgeon who noted that people need at least three weeks to get used to their new appearance. At the same time, everything depends on the individual characteristics of the person: for some, it takes a month for a habit to become a second “I”, and for others – much more. This must be understood and accepted. The main condition is consistency.
Some pretty simple ways to make laziness a thing of the past
- Don't try to complete the task in one sitting, divide it into small parts . For example, for 10-minute approaches. We set a timer and work strictly during this time. Then 2 minutes of rest. And we get to work again. And so 5 approaches. Only an hour will pass, and the work will be done decently.
- Encourage yourself ! Then any work will be easier, and the fight against the strongest laziness will seem like something pleasant. Praise yourself for every task you complete. Everyone has their own ways of doing this.
- Create the mood ! For example, decorate your workplace so that it evokes only positive emotions. Another option for boosting morale is to play your favorite music that will lift your spirits.
- Be patient ! Don't quit what you started halfway. Often the result is not immediately visible and you need to learn patience.
- Systematicity . Every day. You shouldn’t compromise with yourself: “I’ll rest today, I’m lazy, and I’ll finish it tomorrow.” Consistency is important.
Intrapersonal conflict as a deep cause of laziness
According to Ukhtomsky’s doctrine of the dominant, at one moment in time one need is relevant for a person, and all human behavior is subordinated to its satisfaction. If, at the moment when a certain need is relevant, a person sets himself a task that is not consistent with it, then the “focus of the dominant” in the cerebral cortex slows down the implementation of the task. For example, in the form of laziness.
In other words, laziness occurs when, instead of satisfying our true, urgent need, we try to satisfy another.
In psychology, this situation is called intrapersonal conflict. A conflict of needs is a special case of intrapersonal conflict (we recommend that you read more about all types of intrapersonal conflict in N.V. Grishina’s book “Psychology of Conflict”). Laziness is a form of resistance of our body, with the help of which it signals to us: “Stop! You're going the wrong way! Stop and think: do you really need this now.”
What's wrong with laziness?
Laziness is bad because, in fact, we do not choose our vector in life, that is, what we want to ultimately achieve, in what situation we want to see ourselves. How to live, how to look, how to feel in the future. If we tend to be very lazy, then all this is achieved with great difficulty.
Laziness is normal and characteristic of absolutely every person. The only question is how often we allow our laziness to lead our lives, determine what we do, where we go. Constant laziness means that we either try not to set goals for ourselves because we are afraid of not getting closer to them, or we set the wrong goal, so we don’t move towards it. Well, then we begin to scold and belittle ourselves for the lack of results, and this, in turn, leads to a decrease in self-confidence. We lose faith in our strength and take even less active action, it's a vicious circle. Tired of running in circles, we begin to justify ourselves. And be lazy again. And again scold myself for the day.
Overcoming laziness by working with needs
Psychological work with needs is always difficult and highly individual. However, we can highlight a number of general recommendations that will help resolve the intrapersonal conflict that gives rise to laziness and free up useful energy for the implementation of intended goals.
1
Step 1. Awareness of the true urgent need.
Often this step is enough to reduce stress, stop being “lazy” and start completing existing tasks.
Instead of refreshing the VKontakte news page in a fit of procrastination for the fifth time in a row, try taking a short break and asking yourself the question: “What do I need now?”
It can be difficult to answer this question; there is no need to rush. It is important to develop the habit of being attentive to your inner world, and sooner or later you will begin to answer this question faster and more correctly.
Let us emphasize that the purpose of the question is not only to obtain an answer. By asking yourself this question, you take your laziness under control, you stop being a hostage to your conditions, you begin to decide for yourself: when to work and when to be lazy.
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Step 2. Resolving intrapersonal conflict through conscious choice and taking responsibility for its results.
When you realize your true urgent need, you will have to make a choice: drop everything and start satisfying it, or continue to solve your problems, despite the fact that at the moment you need something else.
Let us emphasize: for your choice to be effective and not lead to increased laziness, two conditions must be met:
- It is important to make choices consciously . It is necessary not just to give up on one of the parties to the conflict, but to make a decision, do it confidently, fully understanding what exactly you are deciding and why you are doing it.
- It is important to make choices responsibly . You need to fully consider the consequences of your choices and recognize that you are the source of those consequences.
When making your choice, keep the following in mind:
- If you choose in favor of current tasks, you continue to ignore your true need, which can subsequently lead to increased tension, a feeling of aversion to work, and increased fatigue. You will have to compensate for all these consequences.
- If you make a choice in favor of immediately satisfying your need, which provoked laziness, then you will encounter a number of other consequences: it is important to understand this and outline ways to level them out.
In general, the practice of conscious and responsible choice will save you not only from laziness, but also from many other problems that give rise to our intrapersonal conflicts.
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Step 3. Application of supporting techniques.
Once you have 1) recognized your true current need and 2) made a conscious and responsible choice in favor of satisfying it or in favor of the current task, and only then can you apply all those supporting techniques with a high degree of intelligence, safety and selectivity , which are described in detail in the article “Causes of laziness and ways to combat them” and other materials on the site.
Lazy childhood
Sometimes we ourselves teach children to be lazy by unnecessarily limiting their activity at an early age (most often mothers and grandmothers are guilty of this). “Let me help,” the elders constantly repeat and put away the baby’s toys, feed him, dress him, doing everything necessary much faster and more accurately. But, unfortunately, in this way they often extinguish the child’s initiative, developing in him the habit of expecting that someone else will do everything for him.
Many energetic, active people fail to understand that not everyone can keep up with them. Especially children. We often demand: “When will you get dressed?!” When will you finally do your homework!”, running around the child, hurrying and tugging at him.
If your child is a sensitive, anxious person, this will be especially difficult for them. He will consider himself guilty and try in every way to “meet” impossible demands. Of course, the results will get worse each time.
Let's try to imagine what is happening at this moment in the baby's head. "I am bad. I'm slow. Mom is not happy with me. She doesn't like me. She doesn’t love me”... Are you sure you want such thoughts to wander through your child’s head? After all, it is they who ultimately lead to an inferiority complex, depression and illness. If you don’t want to, then learn to respect his pace of development, his temperament, and even his slowness.
Final comments
In most cases, when you are faced with laziness, you most likely will not need such a deep analysis of your personality.
In many cases, you will be able to immediately move on to step 3 (while being aware of both the benefits of applying a variety of techniques and recipes to yourself, and the possible negative effect of their use).
Sometimes step 1 will help you (just paying attention to your true needs and recognizing them in some cases is enough to increase your sense of psychological comfort and overcome your resistance in the form of laziness).
Reviews and comments
In the comments to this article, share your experience of self-exploration when faced with laziness. Are you able to discover your need that “gets in the way” of achieving your goals? Under what conditions was the use of techniques to “fight laziness” effective, and under what conditions did it lead to negative effects and the desire to “give up everything”?
Author: Svetlana Gurskaya
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Key words:1Self-knowledge
Psychological type
The wonderful Russian writer Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov had the nickname Prince de Lazy. That was his name in society, and he himself really liked the name. But was the author of Oblomov a lazy person? Not at all, judging by how much he wrote. Of course, his collection of works is smaller than those of Turgenev and Tolstoy, but Goncharov was forced to serve, and he served, holding positions that took a lot of time and effort. He retired only at the age of 56 and only to finish The Precipice, which was very difficult to write.
I. A. Goncharov. A participant in a trip around the world, the author of novels included in the golden fund of Russian literature, of course, he himself was not a lazy person of the Oblomov type
Why did this nickname come about? The point is the psychological characteristics of the writer, which were manifested in his behavior. Goncharov himself noted that what he hated most in St. Petersburg life were formal dinners. He shunned social life, and indeed any social activity that required personal presence. Being keenly interested in women (see his comparative descriptions of women of different nations in “The Frigate Pallada”), he never married. Unlike most St. Petersburg residents of that time, he rarely changed addresses: a year after his trip around the world, he settled on Mokhovaya, where he lived for thirty years until his death. Thus, his temperament cannot be called “ebullient”, but, on the contrary, rather “lazy”.
But Goncharov’s laziness has nothing to do with the desire to save energy; this is not the laziness that constitutes the essence of his most famous character. This is a manifestation of the psychological characteristics of a given individual.
And among animals of all studied species, we also find some individuals with low motor activity and low social activity. When some external threat appears, such animals show a reaction not of flight, but of hiding. They show high ability to solve problems, as long as these solutions do not require unnecessary running around and other fuss. Such individuals are not pushed to the bottom of the social pyramid. When attacked, they fiercely defend themselves, but they themselves never initiate a conflict because they are socially inactive.
Thus, sometimes weak manifestations of motor and social activity are called laziness, although in fact such people and animals do not save energy, but spend it on activity that is hardly noticeable to a superficial observer.
