I know, I know - you are all groaning.
What hope do any of us have if laziness is a 'serious' problem? Russell Gough mentions in his book Character is Destiny that we all have vices and virtues.
He describes them as flowers and weeds in our garden.
So looking down the list of 'weeds' I found there wasn't a lot that applied to me until I hit laziness.
I actually accomplish a lot in my day to day life but I also avoid lots.
I'm not talking about things we never want to do, but do anyway, like laundry.
I mean real opportunities that would give me a feeling of accomplishment and that are good for my life, relationships or business.
So in my lazy bucket I put exercise, writing, sending a card, getting up early enough to avoid rushing, preparing something healthy to eat..
..
all good stuff that I routinely avoid.
Addictions have a weird way of playing with our mind.
We start with a sense of losing control then we choose our vice that gives us immediate control, which inevitably leads to feeling out of control.
When we make a healthy choice we feel empowered, proud and in control, but still, getting out of bed fifteen minutes earlier every morning is never as tempting as sleeping in an extra half hour.
All addictions have a few things in common.
Addictions are repeated behaviors where: · You continue to do it even when it causes you problems with your health, relationships, job success or self esteem.
· You begin to organize your day or week around participating in your vice.
· Your addiction begins to narrow your experience of life.
· You develop a talent for magical thinking, storytelling and excuses.
So let's look at my desire to write this article.
Writing articles, for me, is full of positive outcomes.
I can be creative, learn something new, enhance my business and feed my self-esteem.
Yet I started with this article over a month ago, wrote one paragraph and then avoided it.
I thought about it a lot.
I told myself what it would take to find time to write but instead I choose to be lazy, starting my day late and cramming my regular duties into less time.
So I continued to repeat behaviors that avoided writing, organized my day around avoiding writing, chastised myself for missing an opportunity and convinced myself it didn't matter.
Why was I avoiding something that makes me feel really good? I know what I need to do to improve the quality of my life or make a situation run smoother.
I choose something different and then I feel disappointed in myself.
What part of this cycle am I addicted to? Maybe I'll never know, but I find it helpful to move to the principles of mindfulness making choices with intention and self-respect.
What would be best for me at this moment? What can I do now to prepare for later? How can I now, make it easier to, do the right thing later? Notice every choice with curiosity.
A heavy sack of "I shoulds" becomes a lighter bag of possibilities.