Am I really lazy?

“Oh! I am a very lazy person…”

I hear this from many people. Personally, I do not believe there is any mental condition called ‘Laziness’. It is just a word that describes behaviour in a very flippant and judgmental manner.

What might be happening inside the mind of a ‘Lazy’ person is a whole other story. I have listed out some of the common reasons I have encountered when people have told me they are ‘lazy’.

1. If you consider yourself ‘Lazy’, it is quite possible that you are actually very anxious and extremely overwhelmed with certain tasks. Look into the anxiety and overwhelm. You might get some clues there. What’s making you so anxious? What are you overwhelmed by?

2. Some people call themselves ‘lazy’, but in reality they are paralysed with fear all the time. It is perhaps a deep sense of fear that has set in after many years of emotional trauma. When I work with these people, I see that while they acknowledged the emotional trauma that happened in the past, they did not see the after-effects of trauma – the fear of going through it again. 

3. Some people are ‘lazy’ because they are perfectionists and they can’t help but procrastinate. Check out my article on Perfectionism vs Procrastination to know more about that. 

4. Still others are ‘lazy’ because they are just plain tired. Many people operate in a borderline burn-out state perpetually and are not even aware of it. They function purely out of adrenaline rushes. And if not for the adrenaline, they are drained.

5. Recently I have even met a few people who were ‘lazy’ simply because they were missing some essential vitamins and minerals in their body. A simple blood-test and some vitamin and nutritional supplements seemed to bring in so much energy into their bodies.

If you find that you are getting lazy, stop labeling yourself ‘Lazy’ and trying to push yourself! It doesn’t always work. Look deeper at what is causing the ‘laziness’.