Why laziness is in our nature (and what you can do about it)
It’s depressing, isn’t it?
You had the best intentions, brave goals, and bold ambitions, but life got in the way. Now, you’re getting ready to give up…again.
We’ve all been there.
When coping with the demands of busy modern life, personal development goals are usually the first to falter.
Perhaps you want to cultivate the skills you need to build a career you love?
You found an online course that fit the bill. The first week was great. But then you started slipping. After a long day at the office, you’d much rather spend a few hours binging on Netflix. By the time the fourth week rolled around, the course had started gathering dust on the virtual shelf.
You feel defeated, like a failure; a lazy person.
And you’re probably right.
No, you’re not a failure, but like all humans, you’re lazy.
It’s hardwired into our DNA; an evolutionary instinct left over from our ancient ancestors who needed to conserve energy for the hunt. When you combine this with the distractions of the digital age, it’s naturally hard to stay committed to the important things that matter most.
Fortunately, we don’t need to be imprisoned by our biology.
In fact, you can tackle new projects with high levels of self-motivation, vigor, and ease, to build the career — and life — you deserve.
A 21st-century dilemma: digital distractions & our lazy DNA
I have to admit I don’t always use my time wisely.
A random sampling of my free time would not reveal consistently sensible pursuits. There is a lot of mindless scrolling through social media. Now I work online, and I love engaging on social media, but sometimes I’m not doing anything meaningful: I’m on auto-pilot.
When I started freelancing, I began researching the best ways to work independently and improve self-motivation. Soon, I discovered my lazy tendencies were natural.
In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, said humans follow the “law of least effort”: “Laziness is built deep into our nature.”
Neel Burton, M.D, traces our sluggish ways back to our ancestors in Psychology Today: “Our nomadic ancestors had to conserve energy to compete for scarce resources and to fight or flee enemies and predators. Expending effort on anything other than short-term advantage could jeopardize their very survival. In any case, in the absence of modern conveniences such as antibiotics, banks, roads, and refrigeration, it made little sense to think long term”.”
Burton explains:
“Today, mere survival has fallen off the agenda, and, with ever increasing life expectancies, it is long-term strategizing and effort-making that leads to the best outcomes. Yet, our instinct, which has not caught up, is still for conserving energy, making us reluctant to expend effort on abstract projects with distant and uncertain payoffs.”
So, what can we do? We can’t fight our DNA, can we?
Three strategies to counter our lazy DNA
I’ve started experimenting with a few tactics that have helped me commit to my goals.
These are some of the strategies I’ve had the most success with.
1. Talk to yourself
It can be difficult to find the energy — and time — to pursue a passion.
We have to answer emails for work.
We have to clean our homes.
We have to write a blog post.
Author James Clear said by changing one word in these sentences, we create a powerful shift in perspective.
“You don’t “have” to. You “get” to…By simply changing one word, you shift the way you view each event. You transition from seeing these behaviors as burdens and turn them into opportunities.
“The key point is that both versions of reality are true. You have to do those things, and you also get to do them. We can find evidence for whatever mind-set we choose.”
I try to think positively, but during stressful situations, I don’t always get this right. One afternoon, I was stuck in traffic. Soon, I would be running late for my appointment.
I had nothing to lose, so I tried the tactic.
I got to travel to my appointment by car. I was stuck in traffic because I was fortunate enough to have a car. The appointment was a personal admin task — overall a positive activity.
The reality didn’t change. The traffic didn’t speed up, and I was late. But that simple switch changed my mood.
Starting a new venture or learning to master a new skill isn’t going to be easy.
Several times you’ll want to quit.
You’re not good enough. It’s too hard. This will never work.
We all do this — tormenting ourselves and losing sight of all the progress we’re making.
By using the word “get” instead of “have”, I realized how fortunate I have been to even be able to take the leap: I get to build a business around a craft I love.
2. Find your “why”
Talking to ourselves also includes a frank discussion about what motivates us.
In his book, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport, advocates finding meaning for the deep work task you’re doing.
On top of that, focussing on meaning is another way to make the task easier, therefore requiring less effort:
“In the economy of action, effort is a cost, and the acquisition of skill is driven by the balance of benefits and cost,” writes Kahneman.
Kahneman asks: “ What outcomes must we purchase in the economy of attention?”
When I figured out I truly wanted to work independently as a remote writer, I knew I’d have to level up my writing. Keeping this bigger goal in mind has been the most powerful force in sticking to my writing practice schedule.
In a post here on Medium, ⭐ Ryan Justin confronts resistance with the following questions:
When times get hard you have to ask yourself why?
Why am I doing this?
What is your motivation for putting in the work?
Are you happy with things as they are right now?
These are the questions I ask myself every time I feel the urge to slack off.
Here on Medium, Benjamin Hardy said being guided by this “why” helps to steer us towards our definition of success.
“If you know what you want and why you’re doing it, you’re not worried about the “gold.” Your security is internal. You aren’t worried about the outcomes because you already know they are coming.”
Ask yourself. What is your dream?
Maybe it’s getting the best education for your kids or traveling the world.
Perhaps you want to get to the point where you only do deeply fulfilling work alongside people you admire… not because you have bills to pay.
There are desires deep within you. You have every right to them and they are powerful. Unleash them — they’ll fuel you when you need it most.
3. How to eat an elephant
Ok, so once you know what you why is, how do you get good at it?
Bit by bit, day by day.
While it’s easy to start learning almost anything online nowadays, it’s not easy to stick with it.
You sign up for something new, and you’re going full throttle for the first few days. You miss a few sessions and begin to feel disheartened. Then your dedication fizzles before vanishing altogether.
I identified HTML as a good skill to gain for the type of career I wanted to build. So I signed up for an online course and went charging through the modules for the first few days, going for hours at a time. As you can imagine, I wasn’t able to sustain the pace. A few weeks later, I struggled to remember the fundamentals. I was back to square one.
A few months later, I started studying more of James Clear’s work on habits. Clear recommends focussing on small habits so you can make incremental progress towards your goals.
I settled on spending 15 minutes per day on learning HTML. Some days — when I had the time — I spent more than 15 minutes. After three months, I was confident with my understanding of HTML. (I even picked up some basic CSS.) Best thing is, I didn’t do overhaul my schedule or set a crazy goal. My challenge was simple: spend 15 minutes per day learning HTML on an interactive course.
Studies show breaking your goals into chunks like this will bring you closer to achieving your desired result. In an episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick discuss a study by Albert Bandura and Dale Schunk.
The study involved children completing a self-directed maths course. One group had to complete a set number of maths problems during each session. The other had to complete the same number of problems but the work only came due at the end of the program. The children with short-term goals progressed rapidly, finishing more problems and improving their overall mathematical performance.
Make a small time investment; you won’t remember what you were doing with those 15 minutes on any other day, but it will have a significant effect on your life.
4. You’re not an amateur so stop acting like one
I started my career in the print newsroom where deadlines weren’t negotiable.
Now I work with clients, and the idea of missing a deadline makes my stomach turn.
But when it came to sticking to my own personal writing projects, I struggled.
If something urgent came up, writing practice or working on a piece for myself was the first thing to go. I promised I’d make up the time but I never did.
I listened to a podcast by Marie Forleo where she spoke to author Steven Pressfield. Pressfield is the author of the Legend of Bagger Vance. It was one of the talks that altered my perspective totally.
While Pressfield refers to a type of negative resistance that holds us back from pursuing a goal, I think it can also be related back to ideas around laziness and inaction.
Pressfield offers a convincing solution: become a professional.
Professionals show up every day and do the work, said Pressfield.
“An amateur has amateur habits. A professional has professional habits.”
Forleo and Pressfield compared the shift with a normal day job. When you’re employed by an external organization — or even when you’re consultant delivering work for a client — you show up, no matter what, and you get the job done.
“The reason we are professionals (at work) is because the job enforces it on us…when people leave that job, they tend to drop that whole attitude,” said Pressfield.
Why can’t we honor the promises we make to ourselves? Our goals, our dreams, our hopes — what we yearn for — are worth it.
Take the first steps down your path of progress today
Modern life isn’t easy. We’re genetically programmed to conserve energy. And when you combine our prehistoric DNA with the 21st’s century’s swirl of obligations and distractions, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed.
You deserve to feel satisfied. You deserve to feel like you’re investing time in the things that help you grow personally and professionally.
Try the strategies above, starting only with a small commitment.
Soon, you’ll see the power of your incremental progress. Imagine the life-changing wonder of your new talents. You’ll create your own luck — equipped with the skills to take on new opportunities.
The road to fulfillment begins today with a small step in the right direction your future self will love you for.
