Where does laziness come from, why does it manifest itself differently in different people, and how to deal with it? How to fight laziness

I am often asked how to deal with procrastination.

For example:
“I constantly put things off until later... not long ago I learned what this habit is scientifically called. Now the procrastination in me annoys me even more.”

There is one interesting tendency in modern psychology: to take some well-known phenomenon, come up with a term for it and pass it off as a disease.

For example, there is the well-known drunkenness. But they came up with a term dipsomania- painful thirst for alcohol. At the same time, they say that a drunkard is someone who can not drink, and a dipsomaniac is someone who cannot help but drink. But of course, “an attack of dipsomania” sounds much more attractive than “binge.”

The same thing happened with procrastination. There is a well-known laziness, which is even included in the seven deadly sins. But now laziness has been called a beautiful name and we can proudly say:

- Leave me alone! I have procrastination!

Let's see where this term comes from.

Will wait until tomorrow

I want to know the meaning
the words "procrastination"
but I keep putting it off.

In 1992, Noah Milgram wrote a book: “Procrastination: The Disease of Our Time.” Procrastination comes from the Latin expression pro crastinus (“see you tomorrow”).

Milgram described procrastination as chronic putting things off until later. And it allegedly differs from laziness in that a lazy person sits idle and is happy, while a procrastinator sits idle and worries.

This word never caught on in scientific psychology. It is difficult to imagine a lazy person who does not worry about the consequences of his laziness.

But in popular psychology this approach has gained extraordinary popularity. After all, a universal excuse has appeared: “I’m not a quitter, I have this kind of illness!”

Why is it better not to use the term “procrastination”?

Let's look at an example. You came home from work, were getting ready to relax and suddenly remembered that the faucet was leaking, and you were just going to fix it today. But I don’t want something. You start to think:

• I'm tired, I'll fix it tomorrow.
• Apparently the gasket needs to be changed; I don't have a spare one.
• The faucet doesn't leak much, it just drips. It might wait.

After that, sit down to watch TV, but from time to time unpleasant thoughts come to you about the leaking tap.

So, what is it: laziness or procrastination?

First, let's call it procrastination and see where it leads.

• I haven't been able to fix the faucet for a week now!
• I remembered, this is procrastination!
• I am sick!
• I need specialist help!
• I should call a therapist!

A month later.

• I haven't been able to call my therapist for a month now.
• This is starting to get on my nerves!
• And the faucet is leaking, and I'm procrastinating!

That is, admitting that procrastination is an illness is only a reason to upset yourself even more, but without any benefit. I procrastinated, procrastinated, but didn’t procrastinate at all.

Now let's call it laziness. Let's see where this leads.

So you're sitting in front of the TV and thinking:

• We need to fix the faucet!
• But I'm lazy!

In this case, you get the classic problem: “I need to do it, but I don’t know how to do it.” It is in such a situation that thinking turns on and begins to sketch out options:

• I'll watch the movie and get busy.
• Now I’ll just see what’s wrong with the tap, and I’ll fix it later.
• I'll call the plumber...

That is, the thought begins to work towards solving the problem. Even if you can’t think of anything right now, you can tell yourself:

• Okay, today I decide to rest, and tomorrow at 19-00 I will work on the tap.

With this approach, you made a decision, put it on your calendar, and forgot about it. Nothing upsets you, and you can relax calmly.

Chronic procrastination

- What are you doing?
– I procrastinate
- Well, at least he’s busy with something.

Now let's talk about the following situation: it's time to get started, but you just can't get started. Yes, it’s okay to put it off once, because now you’re lazy. But if you put something off over and over again, then the reason is not laziness at all, much less mysterious procrastination.

The point is that you could have already started, but something is stopping you. Something is in the way. Writers call this condition “fear of the blank page.” It seems that he sat down at the table, put a sheet of paper in front of him and is ready to write, but it doesn’t work.

The culprit of this situation is yours. It is important to the ego that everything be perfect. Therefore, before starting each task, the ego begins to shout in the person’s ear:

• I'm the best!
• I do everything perfectly!
• A mistake is a shame!

You can't get started because you're afraid of making mistakes. It’s not so easy to fight the ego, but now let’s look at one of the simple techniques on how to start something.

For writers, it's called "start with nonsense." That is, you just start writing everything that comes to mind, and then smoothly turn to the desired topic. You delete the beginning.

The same can be done in any other case. Before you get down to business, first do something preparatory: walk around, twirl your hands, scratch your head. And do something simple. Gradually you will get involved in the process and do everything right.

Don't try to do it perfectly right away.
The smaller the step, the easier it is to do.

Laziness is the opposite of such human qualities as hard work and diligence. Synonymous with laziness - idleness, parasitism. In various dictionaries, laziness (laziness) is defined in a similar way: in the Dictionary of the Old Russian Language - as negligence, carelessness; in the Dictionary of the Russian Language of the 11th–17th centuries - as the absence of desire; in V.I. Dahl's Dictionary - as a reluctance to work, aversion from work, from work, activities, as a tendency towards idleness, parasitism; D. N. Ushakov considers laziness as the lack of desire to do work, and S. I. Ozhegov writes that laziness is the lack of desire to act, work, the love of idleness. Laziness in the Psychological Dictionary (1996) is defined as an unmotivated avoidance of assignments. Similar definitions of laziness are given in foreign dictionaries. Thus, the Hornby Oxford English Dictionary interprets laziness as an unwillingness to work or be active, to do as little as possible, not to expend much energy, to demonstrate insufficient effort.

Most people have a positive attitude towards work. However, some people avoid work (the so-called parasites). But the concept of laziness is associated not only with these people, but also with those who go to work and carry out certain errands. At the same time, ideas about the laziness of one or another person are very subjective. For example, to workaholics, normal workers seem lazy and quitters. Lack of work is perceived by a workaholic as idleness and laziness.

In the definitions of laziness, two aspects can be distinguished: as a motivational state and as a personality trait (love of idleness, tendency to idleness, parasitism).

YES. Bogdanova gives an expanded definition: “Laziness is a person’s reaction to the inconsistency of the requirements of a situation, activity with the subjective meaning of these requirements, situations, one’s role in the situation, externally manifested as refusal or avoidance of this activity, interaction with the situation, and internally as the experience of the inability to establish required compliance due to violation or insufficient awareness of self-regulatory mechanisms.” This definition is too complex, and most importantly, it can include any refusal of activity due to a person’s poor awareness of its essence.

E.L. Mikhailova identifies three components of laziness (in relation to educational activities):

1. Motivational component: lack of motivation or weak motivation for educational activities;
2. Behavioral component: failure to perform required activities;
3. Emotional component: indifference or positive emotions regarding failure to meet requirements in educational activities.

Different attitudes towards laziness. There are four approaches to laziness: negative, positive (protective mechanism), as a disease and as a myth.

For a long time, the attitude towards laziness has been purely negative. And with the advent of Christianity, laziness was called a sin. In the Middle Ages it was seen as evil, and in subsequent centuries as a negative character trait. Some believe that this is a disadvantage that needs to be fought, others view laziness as a minor weakness that can be indulged from time to time.

There are also opinions according to which laziness is the engine of progress, without it there would be no discoveries. Laziness, manifested at some moments in life, is believed by some authors to be necessary for relaxation. Therefore, laziness is a protective reaction of the body when a person works a lot - the body itself begins to refuse work (observed in workaholics). M. Berendeeva also points out another reason for the appearance of laziness: when a person is under strong pressure (from parents, superiors), suppressing his will and desire, then laziness is a defense against psychotraumatic factors.

In medicine, laziness is considered as a diverse disease, with an incompletely clarified etiology. There are three types of it:

1. Laziness is healthy; it affects the entire population episodically. The main symptom is hibernation, lasting 12 hours or more;
2. Unhealthy laziness, which can flow from healthy laziness, but can arise as an independent disease. A person suffering from unhealthy laziness is completely inadequate to the surrounding reality. The behavior of such a patient becomes cyclically aggressive. This type of laziness is practically untreatable;
3. Chronic laziness; This is the final stage of unhealthy laziness. Patients have an expressed desire to force others to do something, and a great passion for writing.

To the question: “In your opinion, is laziness a negative or positive quality?” 60% of respondents, regardless of their gender, answered that it was negative, 20% - that it was positive, the rest found it both positive and negative. It is considered a negative quality mainly by people under 30 years of age, i.e. at the age when a career is being pursued and activity is required. 1/3 of those surveyed consider themselves lazy, men with a slight advantage; among the rest, 1/3 are not lazy (there are equal numbers of men and women) and 1/3 are both yes and no. In terms of social status, the least lazy people are employees. The age limit is the same for all lazy people. 70% of respondents scold themselves for laziness and fight against it, 8% sometimes scold themselves, the rest are supportive of their weakness, especially men. They scold themselves for laziness, as a rule, until the age of 30, then they calm down, especially after 50 years.

Lukyanova A.I. 2010. P. 172.

Finally, there is a point of view that laziness is a myth. Mel Levine claims that a person does not have such a quality as laziness. Those who are called lazy suffer from neurodevelopmental dysfunction, such as memory, speech, attention, and motor impairment. He identifies eight common forms of neurodevelopmental disorders that negatively affect a person's functioning: language dysfunction, disorganization, insufficient levels of mental energy, excessive sociability, poor performance management, insufficient memory development, motor inefficiency, and insufficient perceptual and idea generation abilities. In addition, Levin notes the role of parents and teachers, who must accustom children to constant work.

It is necessary to distinguish between laziness as a situational manifestation and as a permanent manifestation that characterizes its presence as a personal quality.

Situational manifestation of laziness determined by the following situations: lack of mood; boredom; fatigue; illness; drowsiness; hunger; uninteresting, meaningless, uncertain or difficult; overloads; external pressure; lack of opportunities.

Reason laziness as a personal trait It is usually considered incorrect upbringing when a child does not develop a positive attitude towards work, but, on the contrary, develops a consumer attitude. Laziness can also develop when a child is given overwhelming responsibilities; the child becomes convinced that he cannot cope with the work anyway, and therefore either strives to avoid it or does it somehow. The same will happen if the goal is unclear to the child.

However, as mentioned above, laziness can be caused by dysfunctions in the development of mental processes, that is, not only by external, social factors, but also by internal biological factors.

Research shows that the following tendencies are more typical for lazy people compared to non-lazy people: low self-esteem of perseverance; a pronounced desire to avoid failure; low self-regulation in activities; weak nervous system; the predominance of inhibition according to internal balance (the latter typological feature indicates a weakly expressed need for activity); lower motivation for success.

Accordingly, non-lazy people are more characterized by: high self-esteem of perseverance; high achievement motive; high self-regulation in activities; great strength of the nervous system; predominance of excitation in terms of internal balance (which indicates a high need for activity); higher motivation for success.

Thus, the so-called laziness depends on both motivation and “willpower,” which are determined by the presence of such natural inclinations as a strong or weak nervous system, the predominance of excitation or inhibition in internal balance (the severity of the need for activity).

Yu.S. Oshemkova believes that laziness is a consequence of the lack of existential motivation. The author believes that the current idea of ​​laziness as a weak development of the volitional sphere of a person can be expanded and understood as adherence to the same stereotypes in the absence of change and development. This interpretation of laziness allows us to directly contrast it with the concept of self-realization: it is not the one who constantly does the same thing who realizes himself, but only the one who continuously develops and moves forward, which is only possible if there is existential motivation. Hence, the fight against laziness should be solved through authentication psychotherapy, during which a psychologist helps a person free himself from the stereotypes imposed on him by society and gain true existential motivation - to reveal the uniqueness of his personality.

a universal means of protection against useless labor. Most often, this is a consequence of uncertainty about the goal, lack of incentives, or simply many years of fatigue. To understand laziness, you need to clarify its essence. Too lazy to do certain work. - There are two options: refuse work or make it enjoyable. When you try to refuse a job, you need to decide who else will take on the job or what will happen if you don't do it at all. Here you can exchange affairs with someone, bring in help, or break the work into operations, change its technology, etc. Sometimes you can “sit out” unpleasant work (for example, the army knows the principle: having received a command, do not rush to carry it out - a command may follow to leave it aside ). To make work enjoyable, you can:

1) come up with a reward system for yourself;

2) arrange a competition with colleagues (even if they don’t know about it);

3) bring the monotonous part of the work to automatism - then it “skips” past the psyche;

4) psychologically distance yourself: imagine yourself as an actor getting into character, or a detective engaged in industrial espionage (this is especially effective for one-time jobs);

5) keep in mind the final incentives - earnings, appreciation, professional growth, even the end of unpleasant work - and satisfaction from the incentives will gradually transfer to the work process itself. The presence of laziness for physical and mental reasons. Such reasons can gradually arise as if by themselves: you just need to not do exercises, not go for walks, not play sports, eat less vegetables and fruits, go to bed later, etc... Laziness also comes when a person does not have a goal or does not can determine it. It’s worth trying to answer the following questions in writing: about your life goals; about how you would like to spend the next three to five years of your life; about how life would go if you knew that in six months it would end... And set aside two or three minutes to answer these questions. Then, in each list of answers, highlight three main goals, and of them, the most important one. And see if they are similar to what you have to do every day. - This will be a reasonable diagnosis of laziness and a prescription for it. Laziness has a certain mode. You need to move the simplest tasks to the hard, lazy hours. If times are tough for a month or season, you can break them up with a short vacation. If this is “spring fatigue”, you should pay attention to vitamins, spend more time in the air, in the sun. In addition to the above situations, there may be others. The main thing is to understand the origins of laziness, formulate the problem, outline ways out of it and act immediately. But don’t forget that besides lazy people there are also workaholics, whose lives can also pass by...

Called the pleasure principle, Leonard Carmichael notes that "laziness is not a word that should be in the headlines of most psychology books... Laziness is the mystery of modern psychology that provides insight into the reason why hungry rats press levers or how poets write their works, and scientists make discoveries.” A 1931 study found that high school students were more likely to blame their failures on laziness when teachers explained it as “lack of skill,” which later led to laziness. Do not confuse laziness with lack of will, as well as symptoms of some mental illnesses, such as depression, attention deficit disorder, sleep disorder, schizophrenia, etc.

Definitions of laziness, reasons for laziness

Another definition of laziness is “the need to conserve energy.” Laziness is a person’s desire to refuse to overcome difficulties, a persistent reluctance to make a volitional effort. The reasons for laziness can be:

• Overwork, objective exhaustion of the body, waste of physical, energetic and emotional resources.
• The discrepancy between our “should” and our “want” - when we waste time of our lives on things that are not desirable for us.
• An intuitive feeling that the task currently being performed is unnecessary.
• Unprepared to face upcoming challenges.
• Lack of habit of a cheerful and active life.
• A lot of things to do and no plan.
• Desire to rest.

Laziness can often be a sign of depression.

In psychology, laziness is a lack of motivation.

Laziness appears as a result of the absence of direct stimuli: hunger, cold, predators. In primitive society, it is they who force a person to move. In modern society, an additional factor comes into force - reason, which forces people to act in the absence of apparent reasons. “I’m too lazy to do this” means: “I don’t understand why I should do this.” The highest degree of laziness, according to V. I. Dahl’s “Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language,” is called “fat.”

Related concepts

• Lack of willpower.
• Amotivational syndrome is very often associated with cannabis use.
• Lethargy.
• Senioritis, a decrease in the performance of those who are close to completing their studies.

Psychology

From a psychological point of view, laziness is characterized more as a bad habit rather than a mental disorder. The main reasons for low self-esteem, bad character traits, and lack of discipline are lack of self-confidence, lack of interest in any activity or belief in its effectiveness. Research in this direction has shown that laziness is the cause of a decrease in motivation levels, caused by excessive stimulation or a large number of factors that contribute to the release of dopamine in the brain, which is responsible for pleasure. Excessive release of dopamine leads to blunted neural patterns and also negatively impacts the front part of the brain responsible for risk perception. Experts who study attention deficit hyperactivity disorder say that excessive activity can cause behavior problems, distracted attention and emotional trauma, which subsequently leads to laziness, which can manifest itself as a defensive reaction in the body.

Social examples

Economy

Economists have slightly different views on laziness. For example, Frédéric Bastiat argues that idleness is the result of the productive activity of hard-working people, and not a negative consequence. Others note that laziness is an inexplicable thing that is achieved through enormous difficulty. In every industry, people are trying to make sure that the consumer has a lot of free time. “Ludwig von Mises writes: “Work is hard. After all, being lazy is much easier and more enjoyable than working. People work only when they understand that the payoff from work is much greater than the loss of satisfaction.

Religion

Christianity

One of the Catholic Seven Deadly Sins is sloth, which is often defined as spiritual and/or physical apathy or indolence. Laziness is discouraged in Hebrews 6:12, one of Jesus' parables to the Thessalonians in Matthew's Gospel (Matthew 25:26). The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes say that laziness can lead to poverty (Proverbs 10:4, Ecclesiastes 10:18).

Islam

كسل (Kasal) is an Arabic term used in the Quran to denote laziness, inactivity and slowness. The opposite of laziness is Jihad al-Nafs, which is the fight against one's ego. Praying five times a day, as well as on an empty stomach, is part of the action against laziness. In Islam, it is believed that laziness comes from Hell.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, the term kausīdya is usually translated as "sloth" or "spiritual laziness". Kausīdya is defined as unhealthy activities such as lying down or stretching.

Laziness in culture

• In The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, lazy people are in the 5th circle of hell.
• There is an engraving "Laziness" - a pen drawing for the cycle of seven engravings "The Seven Deadly Sins", written in 1557.
• Laziness is a 1981 animated film directed by Alexander Polushkin.
• Ivan Goncharov's novel "Oblomov".

Movies and TV shows

• The Big Lebowski, a landmark 1998 film in which the protagonist "The Dude", an unemployed slacker with a laid-back approach to life, created his own religion, Dudeism.
• Juan Tamad (Lazy John), Filipino folklore character.
• Sloth, along with the other 6 deadly sins, appeared in the episode "The Magnificent Seven" in the TV series Supernatural. The role of Leni was played by S. Ernst Hart.
• Laziness, along with the other 6 deadly sins, appeared in Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga. Laziness is the result of Tricia Elric's transmutation.

see also

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Notes

Literature

• Laziness in the ideas of everyday consciousness / Mikhailova E. L. // Psychological problems of self-realization of personality / Ed. L. A. Korostyleva. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2004. - Issue. 8. - pp. 274-282.
• Grozdanovich D. The art of doing almost nothing / Transl. from fr. O. Churakova. - M.: Text, 2013. - 2888 pp., 2000 copies, ISBN 978-5-7516-1149-1
• Sans-Tsvetkova T. I'm lazy. - Simferopol, 2014. - ISBN 978-966-1691-92-5
• Alexander Vereshchagin. How to manage everything? 4 Skills for Effective Time Management. - St. Petersburg: “Ves”, 2016. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-9573-3105-6.

Links

An excerpt characterizing Laziness

- And what secrets could there be at your age between Natasha and Boris and between you - they’re all just nonsense!
- Well, what do you care, Vera? – Natasha said intercedingly in a quiet voice.
She, apparently, was even more kind and affectionate to everyone than always that day.
“Very stupid,” said Vera, “I’m ashamed of you.” What are the secrets?...
- Everyone has their own secrets. We won’t touch you and Berg,” Natasha said, getting excited.
“I think you won’t touch me,” said Vera, “because there can never be anything bad in my actions.” But I’ll tell mommy how you treat Boris.
“Natalya Ilyinishna treats me very well,” said Boris. “I can't complain,” he said.
- Leave it, Boris, you are such a diplomat (the word diplomat was in great use among children in the special meaning that they attached to this word); It’s even boring,” Natasha said in an offended, trembling voice. - Why is she pestering me? You will never understand this,” she said, turning to Vera, “because you have never loved anyone; you have no heart, you are only madame de Genlis [Madame Genlis] (this nickname, considered very offensive, was given to Vera by Nikolai), and your first pleasure is to cause trouble for others. “You flirt with Berg as much as you want,” she said quickly.
- Yes, I certainly won’t start chasing a young man in front of guests...
“Well, she achieved her goal,” Nikolai intervened, “she said unpleasant things to everyone, upset everyone.” Let's go to the nursery.
All four, like a frightened flock of birds, got up and left the room.
“They told me some troubles, but I didn’t mean anything to anyone,” said Vera.
- Madame de Genlis! Madame de Genlis! - Laughing voices said from behind the door.
Beautiful Vera, who had such an irritating, unpleasant effect on everyone, smiled and, apparently unaffected by what was said to her, went to the mirror and straightened her scarf and hairstyle. Looking at her beautiful face, she apparently became even colder and calmer.

The conversation continued in the living room.
- Ah! chere,” said the countess, “and in my life tout n”est pas rose. Don’t I see that du train, que nous allons, [not everything is roses. - given our way of life,] our condition will not last long for us! And "It's all a club, and its kindness. We live in the village, do we really relax? Theatres, hunting and God knows what. But what can I say about me! Well, how did you arrange all this? I'm often surprised at you, Annette, how it's possible You, at your age, ride alone in a carriage, to Moscow, to St. Petersburg, to all the ministers, to all the nobility, you know how to get along with everyone, I’m surprised! Well, how did this work out? I don’t know how to do any of this.
- Oh, my soul! - answered Princess Anna Mikhailovna. “God forbid you know how hard it is to remain a widow without support and with a son whom you love to the point of adoration.” “You’ll learn everything,” she continued with some pride. – My process taught me. If I need to see one of these aces, I write a note: “princesse une telle [princess so-and-so] wants to see so-and-so,” and I drive myself in a cab at least two, at least three times, at least four times, until I achieve what I need. I don't care what anyone thinks of me.
- Well, well, who did you ask about Borenka? – asked the Countess. - After all, yours is already a guard officer, and Nikolushka is a cadet. There is no one to bother. Who did you ask?
- Prince Vasily. He was very nice. Now I agreed to everything, reported to the sovereign,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna said with delight, completely forgetting all the humiliation she went through to achieve her goal.
- That he has aged, Prince Vasily? – asked the Countess. – I haven’t seen him since our theaters at the Rumyantsevs’. And I think he forgot about me. “Il me faisait la cour, [He was trailing after me,” the countess recalled with a smile.
“Still the same,” answered Anna Mikhailovna, “kind, crumbling.” Les grandeurs ne lui ont pas touriene la tete du tout. [The high position did not turn his head at all.] “I regret that I can do too little for you, dear princess,” he tells me, “order.” No, he is a nice man and a wonderful family member. But you know, Nathalieie, my love for my son. I don't know what I wouldn't do to make him happy. “And my circumstances are so bad,” Anna Mikhailovna continued with sadness and lowering her voice, “so bad that I am now in the most terrible situation. My miserable process is eating up everything I have and is not moving. I don’t have, you can imagine, a la lettre [literally], I don’t have a dime of money, and I don’t know what to outfit Boris with. “She took out a handkerchief and began to cry. “I need five hundred rubles, but I have one twenty-five-ruble note.” I am in this position... My only hope now is Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov. If he does not want to support his godson - after all, he baptized Borya - and assign him something for his maintenance, then all my troubles will be lost: I will have nothing to outfit him with.
The Countess shed tears and silently thought about something.
“I often think, maybe this is a sin,” said the princess, “and I often think: Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhoy lives alone... this is a huge fortune... and what does he live for? Life is a burden for him, but Borya is just beginning to live.
“He will probably leave something for Boris,” said the countess.
- God knows, chere amie! [dear friend!] These rich people and nobles are so selfish. But I’ll still go to him now with Boris and tell him straight out what’s going on. Let them think what they want about me, I really don’t care when my son’s fate depends on it. - The princess stood up. - Now it’s two o’clock, and at four o’clock you have lunch. I'll have time to go.
And with the techniques of a St. Petersburg business lady who knows how to use time, Anna Mikhailovna sent for her son and went out into the hall with him.
“Farewell, my soul,” she said to the countess, who accompanied her to the door, “wish me success,” she added in a whisper from her son.
– Are you visiting Count Kirill Vladimirovich, ma chere? - said the count from the dining room, also going out into the hallway. - If he feels better, invite Pierre to dinner with me. After all, he visited me and danced with the children. Call me by all means, ma chere. Well, let's see how Taras distinguishes himself today. He says that Count Orlov never had such a dinner as we will have.

“Mon cher Boris, [Dear Boris,”] said Princess Anna Mikhailovna to her son when Countess Rostova’s carriage, in which they were sitting, drove along the straw-covered street and drove into the wide courtyard of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhy. “Mon cher Boris,” said the mother, pulling her hand out from under her old coat and with a timid and affectionate movement placing it on her son’s hand, “be gentle, be attentive.” Count Kirill Vladimirovich is still your godfather, and your future fate depends on him. Remember this, mon cher, be as sweet as you know how to be...
“If I had known that anything other than humiliation would come out of this...” the son answered coldly. “But I promised you and I’m doing this for you.”
Despite the fact that someone’s carriage was standing at the entrance, the doorman, looking at the mother and son (who, without ordering to report themselves, directly entered the glass vestibule between two rows of statues in the niches), looking significantly at the old cloak, asked who they wanted whatever, the princesses or the count, and, having learned that the count, said that their Lordships are worse off now and their Lordships do not receive anyone.
“We can leave,” the son said in French.
- Mon ami! [My friend!] - said the mother in a pleading voice, again touching her son’s hand, as if this touch could calm or excite him.
Boris fell silent and, without taking off his overcoat, looked questioningly at his mother.
“Darling,” Anna Mikhailovna said in a gentle voice, turning to the doorman, “I know that Count Kirill Vladimirovich is very ill... that’s why I came... I’m a relative... I won’t bother you, dear... But I just need to see Prince Vasily Sergeevich: because he is standing here. Report back, please.
The doorman sullenly pulled the string upward and turned away.
“Princess Drubetskaya to Prince Vasily Sergeevich,” he shouted to a waiter in stockings, shoes and a tailcoat who had run down from above and was looking out from under the ledge of the stairs.

Laziness- this is a lack of hard work, an absolute lack of readiness to do anything, to show even the slightest effort to action. From the position of science, laziness appears in the context of the volitional sphere of the individual, is perceived as its negative quality, lack of activity, motivation, reluctance to achieve goals, desire to relax and have time for rest. In contrast to the volitional characteristics of a person, there is lack of will, and the concept of laziness belongs to it.

Psychology interprets the concept of laziness not as a disease or unhealthy state, but as a symptom, a signal of a problem; it is a conflict between a person’s desire and his duty, the need to do.

Reasons for laziness

Psychology considers the causes of laziness in several directions: the living conditions in which a person finds himself; individual characteristics of the nervous system, upbringing and a person in society. Among the most common causes of laziness, several are described below.

Firstly, physical fatigue, when a person is tired physically, emotionally, intellectually. If the balance between rest and work is disturbed, the individual’s internal strength is depleted and the desire to do anything disappears. The body and nervous system refuses to continue working in this mode and signals the need for rest, manifesting itself through laziness.

The second problem, a symptom of which is the lazy state, is the loss of interest or lack thereof in the work that a person does or should do. The goal is not inspiring, lack of . What we need to do does not correspond to the values ​​and interests that are significant to us at this time, a feeling of futility of what we are doing. The discrepancy between “I want” and “should” is something that exhausts you from the inside. A person is obliged to do something that does not seem necessary to him. “Whose purpose is this?” “Who needs this?” If you force yourself to act, resistance will naturally arise, most likely unconscious. If you force yourself to do something for a long time that is not interesting, laziness will definitely overcome.

The next reason for laziness is... Fear that it will not be possible to do this, that as a result of wasted energy, money, or some kind of effort, the person will not receive what is needed. Thus, laziness performs a protective function against those actions that a person is afraid to do and which intersect with some discomfort for him. He may not be aware of this fear; he will simply be too lazy to do it. An individual may be afraid of something new for him, something in which he has never had experience, he may be afraid of looking ridiculous, of starting a task and not finishing it, of not acquiring the dividends on which he hoped. There may also be fear through past negative experiences, a personal traumatic situation with sad consequences.

Another reason for laziness is homeostasis. Our body strives to preserve the state that is familiar to it. The body is full, it is not in danger, it is comfortable, it does not need to make any efforts to do something new for itself. This is how a person survives.

Also, causes may be the presence of neurological or mental illnesses, alcohol abuse, drug use, disturbances in the stimulation and production of the hormone dopamine.

When studying hyperactivity in children and attention deficit disorder, the causes of laziness can also be identified as behavioral problems in childhood and emotional trauma. Separately, I would like to highlight the reason for the occurrence of constant, chronic laziness - this is childhood and growing up without worries, without the right to make independent choices, without solving problems, when the mother decided and did everything for the child, did not allow him to be independent.

Analyzing all of the above, based on the causes of laziness, psychology identifies this phenomenon from several angles:

- a signal that the goals are not environmentally friendly - do not correspond to our desires and personal capabilities;

- a sign of the inconsistency of the task, when our tasks require a lot of effort, but the result is not worth it;

- lack of motivation, no desire and importance in;

- physical, emotional, intellectual inactivity, passivity.

How to overcome laziness?

There is a mythical opinion among people about how to overcome laziness and apathy: this is a magical psychological method, one right solution, a magical exercise that will help solve the problem. But there is no such unique remedy. There is an internal responsibility for everyone, how a person will be able to live or serve his life, and make decisions independently. And how to get rid of laziness in each individual case, the choice is up to the lazy person and his responsibility.

How can a person get rid of laziness in today's society? If you have decided to stop being lazy and are ready to take responsibility for all the events and changes that will happen in life, then it is worth analyzing the algorithm of your actions and options for working with laziness. First of all, it makes sense to study the causes of this condition.

I remembered the joke: “A man lies on his bed for days, his wife chops wood, cooks food, washes, cleans. She was very tired, she approached the man and angrily: “Why are you lying there all day, if only you could help with the housework!” “He calmly answers her like this: “What if there’s a war, and I’m tired.”

A common reason for a lazy state may be fatigue. In this option, there is nothing more effective than rest. The only condition for such a rest: not to consciously occupy yourself with anything at all, especially what is more tiring - watching TV, thinking about how to get rid of laziness along the way, analyzing the past day, week, month, criticizing yourself for inactivity and passivity, but just relax and rest. There is also a reliable way to overcome fatigue - active rest, changing activities to activities with pleasure. Ask yourself: “When did you rest so well that you felt full?” Here there is a need to think about a clear daily routine, the appropriate use of time, alternating physical activities with intellectual ones, and spending more often in fresh, clean air.

If the reason for lack of interest is loss of inspiration for the activity itself or its result, then the appropriate question would be: “Why should I do this?” The answer will be an explanation of what the symptom of laziness signals, what is valuable for a person, where to look for interest, how you can motivate yourself, inspire you to move towards the result of your assigned goal. If you force yourself to do uninteresting things, there will be no results. There will be internal resistance. If there is no satisfying clear answer to the question asked, then it is worth figuring out whose goal the person is realizing and who needs it. Maybe a lazy state protects a person from inappropriate waste of energy, time, and personal resources. In this option, it is recommended to look for personal motivation; it is worth using praise, promises of encouragement, fulfillment of desires, which is closer to the individual. It is important to see the pleasant and joyful in little things, to learn to enjoy minor victories more.

How to get rid of laziness caused by fear? Laziness here plays a positive function, protecting us from discomfort, unpleasant sensations and consequences. Fear is often unconscious, so understanding the cause of laziness is extremely difficult. It is advisable to track what is painful in such activities, what we are afraid of, what we would like to distance ourselves from. Ask yourself: “What is my internal benefit, what is my gain if I refuse to do this?” Here the best way out is to admit your fear, find what exactly we are afraid of, what needs to be done to overcome internal fears. In modern society, being lazy is a more acceptable form of behavior than being afraid. But fighting laziness will be useless and tiresome when its cause is fear. It is important to understand why you don’t trust yourself? What needs to be changed, tightened up, understood in order to renew your own determination, your capabilities, and increase confidence.

How can a person overcome laziness and apathy if they are a symptom of depression, unwillingness to change anything, a habitual way of existence, a legacy of upbringing or illness? Then it is recommended to contact the necessary specialists in the field of medicine for examination or treatment, work with a practicing psychologist, psychotherapist. J. Hollins wrote that depression, like apathy, has a useful message, that something vitally significant lies in a state of depression, and it is very important not to run away from it, but to plunge into this stay, feel and understand more about it, so that later you have the strength to go further.

Any encounter with laziness requires effort. Where these efforts should be applied is determined by what is hidden behind the symptom. All the same, you will have to make an effort; this condition itself will not disappear. The absence of laziness does not mean doing many things, forbidding oneself to do nothing, it is about the absence in the current life of reluctance to act, decide, move.

Basically, there are three options not to be lazy:

- this is when inspiration is present, and if the matter does not inspire, then the person understands how to interest himself;

- when an individual has the opportunity to motivate himself to do this. Here it is important to maintain a balance in understanding what a person needs and what he really wants. After all, if you only force yourself, you can become very exhausted from such pressure, and subsequently you will not want to do anything at all;

- come to terms with the situation, stop criticizing yourself for your laziness. After all, laziness may protect you from empty, uninteresting work, the end of which will not bring the desired pleasure.

In general, the symptom of laziness indicates a lack of understanding and idea of ​​what an individual actually wants in his life. A person who is aware of what he wants copes with laziness easily.