Best Practices to Overcome Laziness

Oh boy, this is a tough subject and I may hurt some feelings when I talk about laziness. Especially during this time of everyone being quarantined in their homes, it’s easy to fall into this trap. It almost feels like we have an official excuse for being lazy.

I truly feel that nobody likes being indolent. The majority of people want to change their behavior but they simply can’t figure out how to stop. Many will say that they just lack motivation.

When someone says that they SHOULD do something, they have already lost. The reason is that guilt is not a very productive emotion.

Goal-setting is important as well, but the problem for many people is that they only set big goals that would take a long time to achieve. Don’t get me wrong here, it’s important to have big dreams, but the issue is these accomplishments seem so far away that most people procrastinate and never get started. This is why it is important to have daily goals.

So, how does one stop being lazy? What a great question! We first have to understand that being lazy is a choice. I believe that many people have a fear of failure so the easy thing to do is to not do anything. In that case, you have to change your thinking and give yourself permission to fail. Please remember that failure is part of the process. Failing at something, making mistakes, opens up a great opportunity for you to learn new things.

When you make a commitment to do something or be productive, you are basically making a promise. Laziness and procrastination are destructive to your word. When you take on a task, you are making a promise that you will complete that task. Putting that off compromises your integrity and your word in that matter. Integrity is simply honoring your word.

The best way to keep your word is to start making a schedule. Start planning your day the night before; write out a to-do list. This is the time to break down your big goals into smaller tasks that are more easily achievable. You will find achieving those big dreams will happen a lot easier if you break them down into daily goals. The small goals are a friendly reminder that you’ve made a promise to keep. Your promises now become your motivation.

I always say, “ Winners hang around with winners.” It is absolutely imperative to have people in your life that you can count on and that will hold you accountable. If you don’t have this already, get a friend to check up on you and also someone that will push you in the right direction. For the days when you are not feeling motivated, make sure you reach out to them and they will hold you accountable for your actions.

When you make a commitment to overcome laziness, you are making a promise to yourself. The reality is that it’s easier to keep promises to others because we don’t like to disappoint them, but it is harder to keep your word to yourself. Here is the most important part of this, you are every bit as deserving of that respect as anyone else.

Let’s take that first step today and look in the mirror and tell yourself that you truly are worth having the very best. Do that each and every day. Take small steps, make a plan for success, have people in your life to hold you accountable and make the decision to move forward in a positive and productive way. You can do this. I believe in you.

Have a super productive week!

RICH NORTON

Regional Sales Manager RMS

rmsnpc.com

Photo by Cathryn Lavery on Unsplash