Laziness

I think back to the days I trained for marathons and realize I’m capable of being extremely disciplined despite my inner sloth. It’s an ongoing battle and sometimes I need to reset myself back into the routine. Other days, laziness wins.

I fell into a lazy funk a while ago and it took quite a lot of effort to get out of it. I let my mood dictate everything and because nothing was really urgent I procrastinated because it was easy.  Like a dead weight, it made any kind of effort seemingly more difficult. I kept trying to convince myself that tomorrow I’d regain my motivation, but that didn’t happen. How did I get over it?

It’s probably not what you want to hear. Despite my internal whining, I basically hauled my butt off the couch and started on my to-do list. I started out small. Very small, like going to the post office. I worked up enough momentum and kept crossing things off my to do list. There wasn’t much pleasure doing it, but it got easier as I regained some satisfaction from getting errands done. Just getting started was the hardest part.

Sometimes inspiration can give you that jump start but it’s a small window of opportunity that we need to get in on. When the feeling passes, something more deliberate is required.  That’s discipline. As hard as it is to hear, it is the simplest answer you’ll ever get.

How sad would it be if we just waited for inspiration to hit us when we could have used the time in cultivating a skill or talent?

I’m curious. How do you get yourself back on track?