I’m going to be completely honest with you. I had planned to write this blog about laziness and rest very scientifically and it was going to sound like a gosh darn essay. Now however, the deadline has come, and I am left with a very interesting and ironic situation.
Was it
Laziness
That brought
Me here?
Or
Was
It
Rest?
In order to uncover the truth behind laziness and rest, I will be fully honest with my thoughts and the situation that has befallen me.
Laziness is
Avoiding work
Rest is
Refreshing inactivity
With those definitions in mind, I can absolutely think of times where I did have enough energy to work on the blog, I just didn’t want to. I remember having the time, the energy, the interest and the focus, and I just didn’t want to. So, is that avoiding work? I’d say it probably is. However, that being said, let’s dig deeper. There were also times when I didn’t have the energy. Maybe I felt sick to my stomach (which tends to happen to me often, as a person with Celiac Disease, and just unknown sensitivities), or perhaps I’d seen clients and was tired, or I’d just not started out the day with much energy because of not-so-great sleep. So, is that rest? I’d argue that it is a need for rest.
So maybe it’s both?
The therapist answer is always “it depends.” Sometimes another therapist answer can be “it’s yes/and.” There were times when I was procrastinating/avoiding work, which would fit the definition of ‘lazy’ and there were times when I was tired and had no energy and needed rest. But let’s dive even further.
Do reasons why we avoid work matter?
It’s funny. I had an outline that I’d created for this blog, a good first attention-getter paragraph (with a THESIS at the end), and I still avoided the work at times. What was the reason? Well, the defense would like to present exhibit A: As soon as I thought of this idea for the blog, I almost immediately started to write it in my head and couldn’t wait to get it on paper. So, could it be that I just hadn’t gotten the right inspiration for the blog post yet? Could the reason be that I didn’t like what I had planned, and I needed to wait for a better idea? If that’s true, as ideas are not usually within our control of when we get them, can avoiding work even be called lazy in those circumstances?
I would argue “It depends”
I think it depends on the situation. Sometimes work needs to be done, even if the idea isn’t there. Sometimes there is a hard deadline and even if you don’t like your idea or have no inspiration, you need to turn in something. If you STILL choose to avoid the work until the last minute, that might be called lazy. But are there other reasons to avoid work? The defense would like to present exhibit B: Fear. Fear is sometimes a really good motivator, and sometimes it stops us in our tracks. If you’ve heard of “fight, flight, or freeze (though some add others here like ‘fawn’),” you know what I’m talking about. Some people just freeze when they are scared and that makes them almost physically incapable of doing work. In that instance, can we call it laziness?
When we can’t control the reason, is that really fair?
I would argue, probably not. The more we know about the fear-response, the more we know that it’s not really within our control. And anything not within our control, shouldn’t be considered avoidance of work. What if you know how to handle/manage fear and you still don’t do that? I think that’s another “it depends” answer. I realize that we could dig so deep into this, that we get lost in the fog. So, I’m going to switch back over to rest and dig into that.
What truly is rest? Is there a kind of rest that is best?
That was pretty good for someone who is definitely not Dr. Seuss. But the questions are difficult to answer. Is ‘doom-scrolling’ really considered rest? How about mindlessly watching a show we’ve seen a million times? What does the activity (or lack thereof) need to have to be called rest? I’d argue that it has less to do with the activity and more to do with how you feel afterwards. For some people, doom-scrolling can sometimes be rest. Maybe there are times when doom-scrolling makes you feel more drained and exhausted and awful afterwards. Maybe there are times when you’re laughing hysterically at your phone, and you feel all the pleasant emotions and energized and focused and ready to work afterwards.
It all comes down to how you feel after
Rest is not just certain activities that we can easily define and place in that category for every living human being on this planet. There may be many activities that overlap, but rest is really up to you and how you feel. But it’s also not effective to ignore, for example, that every time you do a certain activity, like mindlessly watching a show, you don’t feel very good afterwards. You actually do have to recognize and think about how you feel after certain activities to ascertain if it is rest or not. Then you need to use that information to actually get more intentional, good solid rest.
So, what is the conclusion?
That laziness and rest is far more complicated to fully define and draw a line between for one blog post. That may seem like a cop-out, but it’s true. Even with my carefully crafted outline and a scientific-like research paper, I believe I would have come to the same conclusion. We can, however, take these few things from this time of reflection: laziness often, if not always, has a reason behind it that needs addressing rather than shaming ourselves for our apparent laziness. That reason is not always within our control to change. Rest is not just one list of activities but rather whether you feel rested and energized after completing any specific activity.
The line between rest and lazy is fraught with many perils —
if you dare to call yourself lazy, you may shame yourself out of true rest.The line between rest and lazy is thorny and confusing —
if you cannot work, find the reason, lose the shame.Look to intentional rest to find your energy.
Look to laziness to find your reason.
TLDR: Just the Poem Part
Was it
Laziness
That brought
Me here?
Or
Was
It
Rest?
—
Laziness is
Avoiding work
Rest is
Refreshing inactivity
—
So maybe
it’s
b
o
t
h
?
—
Do reasons why
we avoid work
matter?
—
I would argue
“It depends”
—
When we can’t
Control the reason
Is that really
Fair?
—
What truly
Is
Rest?
Is there
A kind
Of rest
That is best?
—
It all comes down
To how you feel
After
—
So, what
is the
conclusion?
—
The line between
Rest
And
Lazy
Is fraught with
Many perils
—
If you dare to call
Yourself lazy
You may shame yourself
out
of
true
rest
—
The line between
Rest
And
Lazy
Is thorny and confusing
—
If you
Cannot work
Find the reason
Lose the shame
—
Look to
intentional rest
To find your
energy
—
Look to
Laziness
To find your
Reason