If you think you ARE lazy, I have some bad news...
In fact… you’ll never be able to “overcome” laziness.
Why?
Because you’ve been thinking about the way you’ve been doing something as if it’s who you are.
The good news is...
You are not a thought.
The thought “I am lazy” is just that - a thought.
It’s entirely conceptual. It has no real existence.
So of course it’s been difficult to solve this problem if you’ve been thinking that the solution is to get rid of something that doesn’t exist.
So there are actually 2 problems:
It’s impossible to change something if you believe it’s *who you are* -- that’s like trying to tell a Japanese guy to stop being so Japanese
You’ve been thinking the solution is to “stop being lazy” and “start being motivated” -- both which are totally conceptual and don’t actually exist
“Laziness” is a thought your mind has come up with in order to explain why certain things haven’t been getting done.
“Motivation” is another concept people use to explain why things ARE getting done.
I don’t think either one actually exists.
Might there be another explanation that makes a little more sense?
I think you’ll find that... if you think about something which has APPEAL, INTEREST & POSSIBILITY - there isn’t much motivation required.
And if you think about something that you’ve been feeling “too lazy” to do... you might just find that it either isn’t very appealing or interesting... or that it doesn’t seem possible to do.
Small clue there :-)
If you’ve been feeling stuck in not getting stuff done that you’d like to get done...
... or doing stuff you’d like to not be doing any longer…
It’s totally possible to shift the way your mind interacts with those things, so that it creates different thoughts & feelings about it... which then leads you to taking NEW actions about it.
See, when you stop thinking the problem has something to do with “who you are” - as if laziness or motivation are character traits that people either have or don’t have…
… you gain the power to do something about it.
Here’s what you can do about it:
See yourself doing the behavior or activity as you intend. Create a little movie in your mind of yourself actually DOING THE THING.
Most likely, the movie that has been playing is a film of you not doing it, and then you’ve been noticing that with judgment or condemnation.
Instead, see yourself DOING IT, and then notice that with appreciation and celebration.Check for any conflict about both having done it or the process of getting there. Some guy might love to have 6-pack-abs… seeing a picture in his mind of standing in front of the mirror admiring his sculpted midsection… no conflict there…
… But when he thinks about the way to get there, seeing himself at the gym - doesn’t sound like fun. And what are all those super fit people gonna think about him? Is he gonna look stupid? And what if he gives up halfway through and put in all that effort for nothing?
So there’s the conflict. It’s possible his mind might have been creating a feeling of resistance designed to protect him from judgment, embarrassment, disappointment, etc.What’s the next step? Often there’s just no clarity about WHAT TO DO. What’s something you could do right away, that would be good to have done, and is possible to do? What’s a target you can aim at and know you can hit?
Then… put it on your calendar. Usually there simply isn’t a plan, or even an intention to make a plan. Because the mind has been so preoccupied with guilt or judgment about not having done it previously. And all that conflict has probably been getting in the way of even thinking about making a plan.
Been having lots of fun in 1-on-1 sessions this month with several people looking to increase motivation.
With just a few tweaks in how they’ve been seeing things, and engaging in some processes to clear out internal conflicts, it’s awesome to see how their eyes light up as everything clicks into place.
And then, they notice that forward movement isn’t just easy, but it’s hard to stop themselves. Because the energy of the intention is what moves them forward, and once the ball gets rolling, it’s harder to stop it than to keep it moving.
Shoot me an email at linus@manifestmomentum.co with the subject line “MOMENTUM” if this is something you’d like to get done.
-Linus