Feeling lazy?

Here’s a painting of some daffodils. I made it this week. I sat down to write this Friday newsletter, but I didn’t have any ideas. What I did have was a new black watercolour crayon that I wanted to play with, so that’s what I did instead. I enjoyed it, but it also felt like a distraction from what I was meant to be doing – writing this email.

It’s ironic that what I thought was a distraction has, in fact, turned out to be the way into the thing I was trying to write. This is not a new insight. Many creative people would like to be more focused, more organised, more disciplined and so on, only to find themselves engrossed in activities that might, at best, be thought of as time-wasting, or at worst just laziness. And for that, we judge ourselves harshly.

Can we be a bit kinder? I came across an interesting perspective on this recently in a book called Diligence - the joyful endeavour of the Buddhist path, by Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. His description of the problem might feel somewhat brutal (the sting of truth?) but hang in there because his solutions are remarkably practical – I know, I’ve tried them.

He begins like this: “We all have aspirations in life. We have dreams, work hard to better ourselves, and seek to make our lives meaningful. We apply ourselves in many areas and wrestle to discern what brings lasting fulfilment, joy, and peace - beyond just the fleeting moments of these experiences.” Yes, I recognise that.

He continues: “Despite our aspirations and efforts, many of us often feel that something is holding us back, particularly where it is most meaningful and personally fulfilling. Sometimes it is an outer impediment or something that we can't control – an external force or person that prevents us from achieving our goals. Much of the time, however, the impediment is not outside, but has more to do with ourselves. Something internal prevents us from doing what it takes to make progress in fulfilling our deepest wishes and aspirations.” Yes, been there too.

And what is this internal thing? It can have many faces and manifest in various ways, but fundamentally, he says, it’s laziness. Ouch!

There are three kinds of laziness, he explains. The first is simple lethargy. We just feel tired and want to rest – so much, in fact, that we start to crave idleness. The second kind of laziness is distraction. We spend our time on pointless activities that don’t serve our purposes. Are you ‘addicted’ to your phone, or are you just too lazy to make the effort needed to stop looking at it? Are you rushing around filling your days with ‘busyness’? That’s also just lazy. The third kind is self-denigration – we tell ourselves we’re not good enough, we’re not worth it, we can’t do it, etc, and so we give up. Again, it’s just another form of laziness.

Sound a bit harsh? Perhaps, but he continues: “It is liberating to see our laziness for what it is. Rather than being controlled by it, honestly noticing our tendencies to deny, avoid, and procrastinate can help us reflect and ask ourselves, What am I doing? What do I really want to do? Honest self-reflection creates space in our mind – room to see what is happening.”

We can use this space to call on “the four allies”. These are four habits we can develop to help us tackle our laziness. The first is rest. Maybe you are worn out – ok, so take a rest. But don’t get attached to the idea that you need a really big rest. Just a brief pause can be enough. This habit is all about pacing yourself – effort in moderation.

The second is aspiration. Remind yourself what you are trying to do and why it matters – not just to yourself, but to other people. This is about having a simple and meaningful intention that you can come back to when needed.

The third ally is what he calls steadfastness. This is about cultivating a sense of self-respect, having some pride in yourself. You can do this, you have done things like this; you might not know everything, but you know enough.

The fourth ally is joy: finding simple ways to enjoy what you are doing. Even if you’re just reorganising your pencils, can you be playful about it? Or at least smile at how easily you find ways to distract yourself? Or perhaps trust the possibility that while your mind is judging what you’re doing as pointless, your body knows different.

I really did enjoy painting those daffodils.