You Aren't Lazy

Being lazy isn’t good. So why do so many people choose it?

I think about this often, not because I’m judging lazy people, but because every person, including myself, has had bouts with laziness.

What I’ve learned is that laziness is the habit of avoiding effort. Most often, it’s because we overvalue short-term comfort and undervalue long-term gain.

Jay Lemons has this great thought: "What if laziness is nothing but a habit of thinking about the effort instead of the outcome?"

When I first heard the question, it stopped me in my tracks. Because laziness isn’t a personality trait, it’s a pattern. It’s the brain resisting action by focusing on discomfort rather than reward.

Think of it like a youth football team standing outside a set of cold plunges.

One player, named Josh, just learned about the benefits of cold plunging for his health and recovery. But instead of getting in quickly, he paces. He dips a toe, flinches, then steps back. Minutes go by.

Then the team captain walks by and says,
"Josh, you’re spending more energy avoiding the water than it would take to get in and get out."

That’s laziness, the exhausting habit of thinking about the effort and discomfort instead of the outcome.

From my coaching experience, laziness is usually rooted in two places:

1. Fear of effort without a guaranteed reward

2. Overthinking and mental resistance

Here’s the hard truth: It’s not that people don’t want outcomes. They do.
But instead of thinking about the reward, they get stuck in the habit of focusing on how uncomfortable the effort will be.

Not you. Not today.

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