Getting Motivated: My Personal Struggle with Laziness

Something interesting happened to me the other day. I was sitting down to read my Bible the other day and noticed that my reading plan called for me to read 2 entire chapters… at once. Sure, I had read about 120 pages from a textbook the night before without a problem, but, for some reason, the thought of reading these two chapters seemed like a lot of work.

As I reflected on this, I realized that I can be a pretty lazy person. Seriously! How long does it take to read a few pages out of my Bible? The answer: about 3 minutes. As silly as it is, this is really a symptom of a larger problem that permeates most areas of my life at one point or the other.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about beginning a workout for the day but put it off until it was too late. I could also go into the amount of times I have procrastinated in doing my homework until I was up against a stressful deadline, just hoping I would get my paper finished in time to make it to class 5 minutes late to turn it in.

The most amazing part of all of this, to me, is that I have never regretted doing any one of these things after the fact. I can’t remember finishing a single workout thinking, “man, I sure would feel a whole lot better about myself if I had just skipped out on that today.” In fact, it is just the opposite that always seems to ring true. After completing a great workout, finishing my homework with plenty of time to spare, or doing my daily Bible reading, I always feel a great sense of satisfaction and am grateful for having stepped up to the occasion.

So, if all of this is true, why do I so often avoid the things that I love to do? Why do I struggle to start doing the things that I will never regret doing? The short answer is that I just don’t know. It seems like I just convince myself that the easy thing (inaction) is the better thing because it will be less work.

But, as with anything in life, the task that is the least amount of work is rarely the most beneficial. I’m sure we’ve all had those really difficult experiences that were worth every ounce of effort and strength. The satisfaction that is felt from paying off a large debt can only be understood by someone who had manned up and done what it takes to succeed. Finally getting that six pack after years of trying can only truly be appreciated once you understand exactly what it takes to get there.

So what does it take to get over the hump of laziness? Well, I think it takes a clear focus on why you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s about having a clear direction, setting goals, and taking action. It’s about looking to others who have inspired you and realizing that there are others waiting for you to inspire them. It’s about making sacrifices now so you can reap great rewards later.

In my own life, I’m trying to get better and better and just doing what needs to be done, but I still struggle. I think I’ll always struggle. But I’m ok with that. Someone once told me that it’s better to realize there is a problem and struggle with it than it is to not struggle at all because you choose instead to ignore the situation.

Hopefully you’ll join me in taking a stand against laziness. Just think of all the things we could do without it.

Do you struggle with laziness? What have you done or are you doing to combat it?

Photo by Darkumber.