Copyright © 2006-2008 Mark Silver
A new client just said this to me the other day: "My problem is that I'm lazy- I just can't seem to stay focused, or get started on doing the important things."
It's no wonder he thought this- all the messages coming at us from popular culture tell us that if we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing, we're lazy.
I'm going to tell you right now, I don't believe in lazy.
What is laziness? Back to my well-thumbed American Heritage Dictionary: "Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness."
Okay, I accept the first part of the definition: "resistant." But NOT disposed to idleness. How many people in business do you know who are disposed to idleness? Out of the hundreds of people I've worked with, I haven't really seen anyone prefer to sit around all day, for days on end, with their hands in their back pockets.
Sure, maybe you are working on ineffective things. Or are paralyzed because of indecision. But lazy...? I don't think so.
If you think you're lazy, do nothing for one week.
Nothing. Don't clean the house. Don't make any phone calls. Don't surreptitiously work on your marketing. Don't even think about any of this. If you can do this for one week, even then you aren't lazy- you're probably just enlightened. ;)
Okay, so what is this thing that we call 'lazy?' It's resistance. So, if we're resistant, especially if we're unconsciously resistant, it's probably a good idea to find out why.
In every case when I've looked at the situation with myself or a client, the resistance was a healthy (healthy!) stopping point, because our beings didn't want to move forward and jump over a necessary step.
Remember my new client who thought he was lazy? When we looked, we saw a crucial self-care issue that he had been unconsciously trying to jump over. If he had actually moved forward into action without dealing with this self-care piece, he would have ended up successful, but burnt-out and disconnected from his heart.
If you are calling yourself lazy, I think it's time to acknowledge your resistance as healthy, and see what your heart doesn't want you to miss.
Keys to Lazy
While you aren't getting something done, feeling more and more frantic or self-judgmental about it, you are probably also feeling depleted. Notice the depletion- what do you need to care for yourself?
If you are feeling depleted, or not getting to something, the Remembrance will help you find the answer.
Meaning, whatever it is that you aren't getting to, perhaps in reality it's more than one thing. For instance, that email you've been meaning to send to your list- it's not just writing the email, it also involves three other tasks, including calling someone that you feel uncomfortable talking to.
Ahhh! That's what was stopping the email- you aren't lazy, you are uncomfortable talking to this person. Use the remembrance, or a business healing, to get to the core of it. Have I mentioned the Remembrance Challenge?
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
About the Author:
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com
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