Laziness and lack of motivation character or disease. What is laziness? Lack of emotional load

I promised to write about laziness - and I forgot.

And people are waiting.

In general, in short, I don’t believe in laziness (you don’t have to read further).

Firstly, I have a feeling that everyone has forgotten what this word means. It means "lack of desire to act." I don’t know, maybe something is wrong with me, I rubbed my eyes twice and read this simple phrase several times, but nothing changed. I don't see it as a crime. What's bad about it? Ask me: “Masha, do you want to dance salsa in the middle of the room now?” Yes, I do not want to dance your salsa. Maybe I don’t really want to write the text, but it seems to be at least being written. That is, I'm not too lazy to write it. There is a necessary minimum of inner desire and resource in order to write it. And about salsa - sorry, something in any way.

No, I don’t live in the country of unicorns either, and I understand that the difficult word “SHOULD” periodically appears - and then the unwillingness to do what is necessary becomes a problem. You can somehow get around this: you can make an effort - and do it, you can cancel the "NECESSARY" - and not do it, you can turn to other people for help and ask them to either do it or help. And you can hang between all this and procrastinate for a long time, cursing at the same time both this “SHOULD” and the lack of desire to do “SHOULD”, i.e. laziness, and inability to make any of the decisions.

*Lyrical digression:

I don't believe in procrastination either. In some film about wildlife, I saw either ducks or seagulls, from which life demanded immediate important decisions, and they began to hysterically clean their feathers. What's this? Inability to make a decision. Unpreparedness. Well, the duck has no solution at the moment, the duck is not ready to say yes to the potential father of her eggs, so she puts on beauty to give herself a break. Do you understand?

Procrastination is “GIVE YOURSELF THE NEEDED PAUSE.” If you think of it in the sense of "pause", by the way, it has at least some chance to end before the Second Coming, unlike procrastination, which is basically endless.
Let's get back to laziness. So, suppose that I really do not have a burning desire to wash dishes, go to the tax office, play railroad with a child, stand in a plank, bathe an elderly relative, etc. And this unwillingness of mine complicates life, because it collides head-on with objective reality and its demands, i.e. with "NADO". Good. But consider my unwillingness bad? Consider it criminal? Dishonest? Not deserving of any attention?

Yes, I don't want to act. What's wrong?

Secondly, laziness is not an answer, it is a question. The phrase: "You're just too lazy" doesn't make any sense to me, because nothing follows it. The plot does not receive a dramatic development. What should happen after this spell is cast? Will I stop being lazy? Will there be a resource? Shame will appear, and after it is still a resource?

In short, all this is no good. Laziness, as we found out, is just a lack of desire to act. And the next question that is reasonable to ask in this situation is: “Why don’t you want to do this?” And here there is already room for a huge mass of personal, sometimes very hard-won answers.

For me, most often laziness is about unheeded needs. Not just dissatisfied - unheard.

We have a lot of needs, and I already wrote once that it happens when a person more often and more willingly follows his desires than his needs, especially if they run counter to great. You can want a career, five children and a house - a full bowl, but the need to have daily contact with beings who are suffering and in need of help. It can be a deep, colossal need that will be calling and pulling your veins all your life while you are in agony scheduling work meetings and feedings. While your happiness is working in a shelter for wild animals undergoing rehabilitation after a life in circuses.

Laziness is a great testing ground for self-observation. In the process, unfortunately, you have to deal with information that you can’t unsee or forget quickly again, and this can be painful, but the choice here is small: either fight laziness all your life and do what you have to, or admit that you systematically too lazy to perform certain actions, and, perhaps, it makes sense to refuse to perform them.
Very often, laziness is about a general low level of energy in general. Some of my clients wonder why they are too lazy to do their English homework. Very often this is evidence of general fatigue and deep dissatisfaction with a whole bunch of very basic human needs. We haven’t slept for a long time, we haven’t walked in the open air and haven’t eaten fresh simple food for a long time, we haven’t experienced spiritual uplift and unity with the world for a long time, we haven’t swung on a swing for a long time (and who will feed the vestibular apparatus?), we haven’t played for a long time. Dancing, music, relaxation, communication with loved ones, tactile and emotional saturation, saturation, richness of sensations, impressions. Where is it all?

And then they get lazy. Yes, do not be lazy, you feel bad.
And you are not to blame for anything.
But the fix is up to you.

Another option is when laziness is a sign of the overwhelming task before us. A more common scenario for responding to overwhelm: fears, panic, helplessness, sudden local dullness - the whole spectrum. But it happens that the unthinkable complexity of the task plunges a person into a state of severe drowsiness, irresistible boredom, wild laziness - such that even the arms and legs do not move, it's so hard. This is also a physiological reaction, which the phrase: “You’re just too lazy” won’t break on your knee. It only means that approaches to the task - for example, in our case, to learning English - must be done extremely carefully, in very small portions, with passing attention to one’s condition, with the obligatory search for activities that will work for recovery after the stress received. , with indispensable praise - not for the result, but for any slightest effort made.

Sometimes this can be divided: for example, there is no panic in the lessons, you are not afraid of the teacher, everything seems to be going fine, but it’s terribly lazy to study alone. This may be a sign of a lack of support (I'm not saying that this is always the case, I hope you remember that in all my reasoning, the basic formula applies: " One cause can have different manifestations, and one manifestation can have different causes"). Or another configuration: panic seizes when you need to use the knowledge gained in the lessons, i.e. at the moment of real communication with real English speakers, but because of this, classes can be lazy, boring, hard, and generally disgusting. Why? Yes, because the brain knows very well why you are dragging it here: in order to then push it into a situation where it is very scary, very fast, terribly incomprehensible, and everyone is watching, and where, if it were his will, he would never go -Yes. So he doesn't go.

He secretly hopes that you will finally drop it all and leave him alone. He has no desire to act. He is unbearably lazy.

As you probably already guessed, this is especially true for children. Children are never lazy. They have everything much more direct and faster than ours, and if children are lazy, it means that something so necessary is missing in their life, without which there is not enough energy for knowledge, research, experiments and the search for new sensations. So if you are a parent, the formula: "You're just too lazy" is better to throw in the trash. Question: "Why don't you want to do this?" in an attempt to figure out what is missing is also not very good, because they are not yet able to connect one with the other and put it all into words through their mouths. You must do this. You must know what a child needs at each age, observe him and draw conclusions about deficiencies. If you don't know how, learn. Which one of you is an adult, after all.

But back to us. What to do if, nevertheless, circumstances develop in such a way that laziness in a form that has not yet been very explored (that is, we don’t know what story it is trying to tell about our life) constantly comes into conflict with the “Need” that surrounds from all sides ? How to cope when English is needed, but it’s too lazy to do it, too lazy, and every time more and more lazy, but it’s still needed, an infection?

Looking for something to balance. Fighting laziness is rather pointless: it is not an end product, it is a fig leaf covering other, much more serious factors of everyday existence. It can only be considered and taken into account as a signal, but expecting it to suddenly disappear or fighting it purposefully is all empty. Exit, as usual, on the other side.

We are not single-celled, we always have several desires, several feelings, a whole range of possibilities for responding and making decisions. Yes, let's say I have no desire to take care of an elderly person, even very dear to me. It's objectively hard. Is it a crime to feel such reluctance? Is it embarrassing? I don't think. This reluctance is natural. But can I feel compassion right now? To sympathize with the helplessness of another? Realize how fragile we all are? To think, in the end, that after all, I can later find myself in the same position? Can I feel the tone and strength of my muscles, while they are able to lift, and turn, and lay down? Can I feel joy simply from the fact that I can do it all? Can I rely on my responsibility, maturity? Everything, the task is solved. I still don't feel like doing it, but I found other motives. This does not mean that it is easy for me, but it means that I can do it and will do it. Without any desire.

Laziness is a lack of desire to engage in labor activity, a state when free time is preferred to work.

What is laziness

Laziness has long been considered one of the human vices and is included in the standard seven deadly sins.

However, in conditions of long-term employment, such a phenomenon can be considered as a signal of the body about the need for rest and the cessation of work activity.

Based on the results of the experiments, the researchers concluded that a person whose labor contribution is not evaluated as his personal achievement shows labor laziness.

Nevertheless, a lazy person and a weak-willed person are not the same thing. Externally, laziness and depression, as well as some other mental disorders, may have the same manifestation, but the causes of their occurrence are different.

However, back to the experiments. Experts are sure: when a person feels the futility of his actions, the subconscious turns on the mechanism of laziness. Why is this happening?

social laziness

This term was coined by Max Ringelmann. A number of experiments were carried out. Participants were not told that their personal contribution was valued in group work, and as a result, their performance scores were three times lower than in individual work.

The next test was even more interesting. The man was blindfolded and given a rope in his hands, while informing him that five more people would pull him with him. As a result, the subject pulled the rope alone and applied less (by 18%) forces than if he knew that he needed to work on his own.

One more test. Small group of test subjects. Participants are asked to shout as loudly as they can. At the same time, they put on headphones so that they do not hear the noise that they themselves create. Each person made three times less noise than in single tests.

Types of laziness

Laziness is of various types. Let's consider some of them in more detail.

1. Thinking. A person does not want to think about the results of this or that action.

2. Physical. Sometimes rest is simply necessary, but in everything you need to know the measure and not abuse it.

3. Laziness of an emotional nature. As the individual develops, the emotional background also undergoes changes. The New Year is not the same as it was in childhood, the music is also not so groovy, and the partner has acquired a lot of negative sides, people are worse and angrier than in youth ... Emotional fading can lead to apathy. Such disorders should be treated by professional physicians.

4. Creative laziness. It is characteristic of many inventors and people of creative professions. It is observed when a person thinks for a long time on a question of interest to him, and then unexpectedly receives an answer. A striking example is Newton with an apple that fell on his head during his hours of reflection.

5. Pathological laziness occurs if you go overboard and go too far with rest. Psychologist D. Carnegie described such a case. One woman claimed to be seriously ill. Her mother nursed her while she lay in bed. When the mother died, the daughter was miraculously cured immediately.

6. Philosophical laziness. This kind of "doing nothing" arises as a result of misinterpretation of religious texts. Especially often this is observed with excessive immersion in Buddhism. If the surrounding world is nothing but emptiness, then all actions lose their meaning.

Each person has several types of laziness.

Causes of laziness

Laziness is also a conscious desire of a person not to make any effort to obtain the desired result. That is, it is also the saving of one's own reserve of forces.

The reasons for laziness can be very diverse, but the most common ones still manage to be identified:

Overwork - the body has exhausted the supply of physical and emotional strength and is unable to maintain working capacity at the same level.
Feeling that the work being done is not necessary at the moment. Usually this feeling is intuitive.
Unwillingness to cope with the assigned tasks.
Absence of the habit of leading a mobile, dynamic lifestyle.
The inability to plan your day, the lack of a clear plan that will solve all the problems, no matter how many of them have accumulated.
Just a desire to get the rest you need.

As you can see, various reasons can cause laziness. Psychology describes this phenomenon as a lack of motivation.

Such a state can appear in the absence of natural causes that push the individual to action: hunger, cold, other threats - that is, factors that affect his survival and safety.

A lazy person thinks like this: "I don't see the point in doing this now or ever."

Laziness in different branches of human activity

AT psychology laziness is more of a bad habit than a disease. And there is a lot of evidence for that. Research in this area shows that laziness, the causes of which depend on many factors - from lack of motivation to excessive stimulation - is the result of the production of a large amount of dopamine in the body. And what do experts from other fields say about this?

Economy

Economists argue that laziness, idleness is the result of the hard and outcast work of other people. And people work productively when they are sure that the return on labor will be much higher than their contribution.

Religion

In religion, laziness is a vice, a mortal sin, which is defined as a spiritual or physical unwillingness to do anything, apathy.

In the "Epistle to the Hebrews", in one of the statements of Jesus, this state is also not welcomed.

Muslims believe that laziness comes directly from Hell, which means that it must be fought in all possible ways. So, prayer five times a day, on an empty stomach, is a good prevention of an idle state.

Buddhism views laziness as an unhealthy thing that includes lying down as well as stretching.

culture

Laziness occupies a strong place in human culture. It is described in books, its influence is shown in cinema, it is condemned in the folklore of almost all peoples. For example, some proverbs about laziness hint that it leads to poverty and misery. What about fairy tales? This is generally a storehouse of folk wisdom! Remember, in cautionary tales, a lazy person always has a lot of problems, at least until he realizes his shortcoming and begins to correct himself.

Some episodes of the popular American TV series Supernatural, the Fullmetal Alchemist anime, and the film The Big Lebowski are dedicated to Leni. Everyone is also familiar with Dante Alighieri's comedy "The Divine Comedy", where laziness is successfully located on the 5th circle of hell.

Proverbs about laziness

There are many folk parables and proverbs that tell about perhaps the most common human flaw.

Here are some Russian proverbs about laziness.

Labor gives, but laziness takes.
Every day a lazy person has laziness.
Who is lazy is not appreciated.
You, brothers, grind, and we will eat.
They go to the pies, but they run away from work.
Lazy and tired of sitting.
Laziness is worse than sickness.
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
A loafer and a loafer - they have a holiday on Monday.
Lazy is a lot of excuses.

Oral folklore condemns laziness as a phenomenon and proves that a lazy person is a burden to others.

The phenomenon under consideration and cinematography does not bypass its attention. Many films have been made about laziness and lazy people, and even more - cartoons. It is not uncommon for protagonists to suffer from this vice until a sudden change in their environment forces them to reconsider their behavior and priorities.

Laziness as an ally

Of course, laziness deserves blame. But is it as dangerous and disgusting as it is painted? If you look at this phenomenon from the other side, it turns out that there are positive aspects.

So, laziness is also the engine of progress. Many inventions, without which we can no longer imagine our lives, arose precisely thanks to all-consuming laziness. You don't want to get up from the couch to change channels - and now the remote control is ready! You do not want to climb the stairs - the elevator and escalator are at your service! In principle, they also solve the problem of descent.

Mobile phones, means of transportation greatly simplify human life, save time and, in a sense, indulge our laziness.

But is it really so important if we only benefit from it?

The negative side of laziness

Many have already found comfort and even come up with an excuse for their laziness after reading about its positive impact. However, do not relax. Perhaps, if it were not for mother laziness, there would be much more inventions.

Just think how many interesting ideas she crushed in the bud, how many relationships she spoiled, how many wishes were not destined to come true! And sometimes the price of laziness is human life.

There are many such examples, it is enough to turn on the daily news so that the decision to change one's life fills a person. Although how long this desire will last is also a big question.

Fight, lose or negotiate

How to overcome laziness, this eternal enemy of accomplishments? No way. Moreover, this is not required at all (and let's be realistic, it is impossible to do this). As mentioned above, laziness, like everything in this world, has two sides of the coin. This means that people should learn to use it for their own purposes and receive certain benefits from this cooperation. Such a symbiosis.

What to do if you are too lazy to even move? You just lie on the couch or bed, slowly merging with this comfortable furniture. In the event of such an attack of laziness (do not confuse with real fatigue or poor health!) Try to look at yourself from the outside. So...

Here you are, absolutely relaxed, your hair is randomly tousled ... Obviously, styling or at least washing would not hurt. Are you a man and beautifully styled hair is not so important? Good! On the face - two-, no, five-day stubble. Not very neat either, is it? The skin on the face does not look very fresh ... You should do peels and masks ... A peeling manicure does not make you more attractive ... And the muscles literally spread out on a horizontal surface ... Maybe you shouldn’t bypass the gym on the tenth road?

Your laziness, so sweet and defenseless, lies next to you, on the already, sorry, slightly smelly bed linen (when did you wash it last?).

As a rule, after such a visualization, a person gets up and begins to do at least something. This does not mean that you will run into the hall or go to beat the carpets, but the ice, as they say, at least a little, let it move, and laziness will go away. Psychology offers many ways to counter your idleness, but this one is one of the most effective.

Try it for yourself when the time is right and you will see the result for yourself.

And remember: laziness, the causes of which are of the most diverse nature, is not your enemy. Moreover, with the right interaction, she is your faithful companion and inspirer. If you do not agree with this, go to the next section of our article.

If you want to become more active and involved in your own life, you need to eliminate the very causes of this condition.

How to overcome laziness? Rule out the following:

lack of interest in what you are doing;
energy exhaustion;
creative crisis.

Each of these factors is the cause of laziness and the feeling of “giving up”, but each of them requires a different “treatment”. In some cases, a change in the type of activity will be a good way out, and sometimes you need to continue doing the old business, but raise the bar.

""Many people have a dream that can be realized within a week, but they make it a dream of their whole life" - words belonging to an unknown author, but how clearly they reflect the state of most people!

Pass a simple test. Let's say you're too lazy to get up early in the morning. And will you enjoy if you have to get up early to go, say, to the Maldives, Bali, on a trip around the world? The answer is obvious, right?

The main thing is to see the meaning in what you are doing.

It’s good if a person is inherently hardworking. He will quickly get bored with laziness as a useless, idle pastime. But most people have a monotonous life: home - work - home ... Monotonous work activity quickly leads to a decrease in motivation. And this, in turn, is a sure way to the emergence of laziness. Which exit? Obviously, you need to add variety to your daily routine.

You can sign up for courses, lectures that you have long wanted to attend, go in for sports, if this desire does not leave you. In some cases, it will be useful to change jobs, if possible at this stage, or go on vacation, make friends with people with whom you would like to maintain a closer relationship.

Another way to avoid bouts of laziness is to make a daily routine and stick to it. Pay special attention to your body and body - a contrast shower in the morning gives strength and energizes, not to mention the fact that you definitely won’t want to sleep after it. A healthy diet will provide the body with essential vitamins and minerals. Listen to good music, take a few minutes to meditate and visualize.

Work with contentment, experiencing satisfaction from the work done.

Feeling cheerful and energetic is a sure indicator of physical health. Therefore, you should exercise every day. You can start with the habit of exercising in the morning. And in your free time, do yoga, fitness or sports games. It all depends on personal preference here. Sports activities contribute to the production of endorphins, so very soon you will like such hated exercises. Do not forget about your body, take care of it, holte and cherish.

Laziness as a symptom of an energy decline

Every person periodically experiences a lack of energy and desire to do what they love. You work selflessly, experiencing the joy of the work done, but gradually you simply run out of steam, and your strength leaves you.

What to do in this case? First, review your diet. Not all problems are spiritual in nature, physical health is also a very important factor. You should think about rest, for example, go on vacation, recharge yourself with positive energy and get the necessary incentive to continue your work.

Laziness is, of course, a common, everyday phenomenon, the eternal companion of any person, it can be both a gift from nature and a real punishment. But how far it will go depends only on the individual and the case.

What is the opposite of "lazy"? Synonyms and antonyms of this word are quite diverse. The words “idleness”, “idleness”, “laziness”, “apathy” will be similar in meaning. Opposite - "industriousness", "labor", "active activity".

Alternating work and rest is a sure way to keep yourself in good shape and maintain a balance of energy. Remember that you need to equally monitor both physical health and mental health.

Hello everyone, this is Olga Ryshkova. What is laziness? Is it a hereditary property or a condition that occurs as a result of some kind of disease? If so, is there a cure for laziness?

No one blames a cat lying for hours for laziness. For her, as for other animals, laziness is a way to save energy. This is especially true for animals that eat low-calorie plant foods.

Human laziness promotes our progress - we are transported by cars, washing machines are washed for us, conveyors and forklifts work in factories. But here we are talking about talented inventors. And our desire for idleness, which beckons us to the sofa, where does it come from?

If a person has slept for 8-9 hours, wakes up broken and after 2-3 hours he has drowsiness and apathy again, this should make him wary. Everyone experiences bouts of laziness, but few people think about its sources. There are several medical reasons that in everyday life are called the simple word "laziness", but in fact they have a scientific justification.

Reason 1. Thyroid hormones.

They affect the functions of the human body and, in particular, the rate of biochemical reactions and energy exchange between cells. What we perceive as laziness may be a violation in the functioning of the thyroid gland. If it synthesizes insufficient hormones, metabolism slows down. This is called hypothyroidism - an underactive thyroid gland. A blood test and ultrasound will help to detect it.

Reason 2. Adrenal hormones.

The so-called laziness, lack of interest in life and pleasure from things that previously pleased a person can be somatic signs of stressful conditions.

Catecholamines (adrenaline, norepinephrine) and cortisol are stress hormones that we need to adapt to any situation. They are produced by the adrenal glands.

During stress or intense work, their level in the blood rises. The more often and stronger the stress, the more adrenal hormones in the blood. This is an internal defense mechanism against severe physiological stress.

But only if the hormonal system is working properly. If a person lives in a state of constant, chronic stress, when the adrenal glands are forced to drive stress hormones into the blood for months and years, these glands become depleted.

The adrenal glands can no longer respond with the release of hormones if necessary. Plus, tissue receptors adapt to them and stop responding to them. The person becomes lethargic, lethargic, tired. What? That's right, lazy.

This is the kind of situation that calls for lifestyle adjustments or even professional medical help to deal with stress ailments and get on with life.

Reason 3. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

If a person is psychologically tired (for example, in a stressful situation), his mental abilities deteriorate. Outwardly, CFS may look like simple overwork, but it is accompanied by a deterioration in immune defense and impaired oxygen delivery to tissues. Scientists consider the herpes virus to be the cause of the development of CFS (its forms are the Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus), I wrote about this in detail in the article “ Herpes virus is the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome».

CFS is not the usual periodic short-term fatigue depending on the intensity of work. This state continues for a long period of time, six months or more without any enlightenment with a constant feeling of fatigue, memory impairment, irritability. Chronic fatigue syndrome and its companion laziness can be contracted like the flu.

Reason 4. Defense mechanisms of the psyche.

Such mechanisms are connected when a person needs protection from mental and emotional overstrain and when the subconscious mind does not want to do what a person is doing consciously. This is a common situation when a person looks lazy, not hardworking enough, but this is not due to the fact that he does not want to do anything, but to the fact that what he does is not very interesting to him. This is a normal resistance that should not be fought. It is better to find out what is really interesting to this person.

Behind laziness, there may simply be a lack of desire, a lack of motivation, goals, unclear prospects for the future, or an avoidance of failure may be hidden. Such problems will help to identify communication with a psychotherapist.

Reason 5. Protective mechanisms of the nervous system.

Such mechanisms are triggered in violation of the regime of work and rest, as well as during prolonged intense work of the brain. The body turns on the mechanism of laziness to protect itself from nervous exhaustion.

Working late and at night quite often leads to disruption of circadian or circadian rhythms. The sleep-wake cycle must be observed and if a person continues to be awake at night, the body does not accept this, he must sleep at night.

If, due to the specifics of work, night activity becomes the norm for a long time, the body adapts to chronic stress and loses the ability to rest normally. Physical endurance is impaired.

The accumulated situation with sleep disturbance leads to the depletion of compensatory capabilities and fatigue and weakness quickly increase. You can defeat lethargy and laziness if you change your lifestyle. It is recommended to reduce the load at least a little, review the rest cycles and the mandatory introduction of active types of recreation, including physical education, into the life.

Reason 6. Genes.

We agree that, in addition to the above reasons, someone has an ordinary predisposition to idleness. Scientists have found that out of the 17,000 genes we have, 36 are related to a character trait called laziness and these genes are inherited.

But if you didn’t find lazy people in your pedigree, and it haunts you, think about the fact that the body can signal laziness about its problems.

But if doctors don't find medical reasons for your laziness, then it's time to take on yourself.

What is laziness - weakness of will or unwillingness to act?

05.05.2015

Snezhana Ivanova

Laziness is a negative quality of will, a person’s lack (or lack) of diligence and activity to achieve a goal ...

Two opposites struggle in a person throughout his life path - the desire for activity, which is necessary to achieve the goal, and inactivity, as an indicator of low motivation and lack of need for something. In psychology, unwillingness to act, especially in a situation where it is necessary, is referred to as a manifestation of weakness of will (read about ""), and in everyday life they are simply called laziness. But here the question necessarily arises, what is laziness? - this is a negative quality of the will, features of the nervous system, a characteristic of the personality or a symptom of the disease. In order to find out this, it is necessary to turn to scientific sources that will help to explain this phenomenon as objectively as possible.

What is laziness: the complexity of the definition from the standpoint of psychological science

Before proceeding to the analysis of the concept of "laziness", it should be noted that the psychology of laziness does not exist as a separate scientific branch or direction. Therefore, in psychology, laziness is most often studied from the point of view of one of the components of the volitional sphere of a person's personality, or rather, as its negative quality. So, to approach the solution of the question of what laziness is and what psychologists mean by these concepts, it is necessary to study the concept of will as its opposite.

Will in psychology is considered as a mental process, which is based on the purposeful regulation by the individual of his behavior, actions and activities, and all this is necessary to achieve the set goals. But since there is will, there will always be its opposite - lack of will, which finds its manifestation in all spheres of human life, in the physical and mental actions of the individual. It is to lack of will that human laziness is attributed, which prevents the activation of the physical and mental forces of a person to achieve the desired result.

Thus, under laziness (translated from Latin lenus means sluggish and slow), psychology sees a negative quality of will, which is most often described as a person’s lack (or lack) of industriousness and activity to achieve a goal, unwillingness to increase the effectiveness of labor activity as well as preferences for free time and leisure. Laziness is also called the desire of people to refuse to overcome the difficulties that arise before them and the persistent lack of desire to make strong-willed efforts to take active actions. The main reason for human laziness in psychology is the lack of a meaningful goal and motivation.

To understand what laziness is from a scientific point of view, it is necessary to analyze this state from different angles, namely how:

low;
manifestation of weakness of will;
habitual (individual) style of human activity;
insufficient level;
one of the forms of defensive reaction of the human psyche;
internal feeling of negativism and rejection;
a tendency to get pleasure;
resource state of the psyche and a kind of human activity.

In more detail, all the presented options for understanding laziness are described in the table.

Understanding laziness in psychology

Understanding laziness	Characteristic
in terms of low level of motivation	Laziness is manifested as a result of the desire to do nothing and do nothing. Such a state of a person appears due to a low level of motivation, which can be formed due to a number of reasons: others do everything for a person, he does not need to satisfy his needs himself, he does not see benefits for himself, he has a low level of need to achieve or not a clear goal. Also, laziness can manifest itself as a result of a discrepancy between the character of a person and the structure of the activity itself, for example, if an inverted personality is put in a position where it is necessary to constantly contact strangers.
as a manifestation of the weakness of the volitional sphere of personality	To achieve success in various activities, a person quite often needs to make strong-willed efforts. If a person has a weakness of will, then this activity can stop and not bring any results. This can be considered a manifestation of laziness. Thus, many psychologists consider laziness as the opposite of strong will, a manifestation by a person of an insufficient level of development of self-control, self-control and self-regulation.
from the standpoint of the individual style of human activity	Here, laziness is considered as a habitual (conscious or spontaneous) style of human behavior and actions, which allows him to keep a balance between his individuality and external reality (external conditions).
due to lack of accountability	Quite often, laziness is considered a manifestation of the irresponsibility of human behavior, when a person refuses to do something, fearing possible consequences. That is, it is easier for a person to do nothing than to remain “extreme” (guilty) because of his actions and behavior.
as a form of defense	Thanks to laziness, the human nervous system rests. Such a manifestation is necessary when a person consciously cannot find time for rest, which is why in this way his psyche and body are looking for an opportunity for this.
as a result of the presence of internal negativism	Here, laziness is seen as the result of a person having a negative attitude towards a certain type of activity or showing comfortable behavior for a long time (internal disagreement, for example, with the actions of the team, with full external support for this).
in terms of a tendency to enjoy	In this context, laziness is interpreted as a person's desire to enjoy their activities, so if this pleasure is not there, then there is also a refusal to act. Also, one should not forget that doing nothing brings the greatest relaxation and therefore laziness can subsequently become a habitual way of life.

The characteristic features (or distinctive features) of laziness can be attributed to:

low activity or its complete absence;
mental and physical lethargy;
lack of motivation and low level of need for achievement;
doubts where the need for vigorous activity is obvious and undeniable.

It should be noted here that we must not forget that in some cases laziness is simply necessary for a person, performing a protective function. That is why laziness can be considered not only as a negative quality, but also as an important physiological human need - the need for rest. Trying to understand what laziness is, the researchers came to another conclusion - it helps us save our vital energy.

The main types, symptoms and causes of laziness

Among the people around us, it is quite easy to single out those for whom laziness is one of the characteristic features. So, they quickly find reasons for refusing to perform activities that they do not like, they are more often than others distracted from an important task, they take on the execution of the smallest and most unimportant assignments. Also, the main symptoms of laziness are manifested in the character of a person: he often lacks stable goals and interests, a low level of criticism prevails (both towards himself and towards other people), he is unsure of himself, most often shows a tendency to comfortable behavior and easily is influenced by others.

People who quickly fall under the influence of laziness can be safely attributed to dreamers, as they like to give out quite interesting and even original proposals, but as soon as the moment comes for their implementation, they back down. As for the peculiarities of their behavior, in addition to the habitual refusal to act and perform irrational (in their opinion) activities, in extreme situations they become the most vulnerable and helpless.

According to many psychologists, the main symptoms of laziness are depression, apathy and chronic bad luck, which are closely related. Indeed, a person who falls into a series of constant failures can soon become apathetic, fall into a depressive state and give up any activity, which will inevitably lead to laziness. And vice versa, the constant refusal to perform various kinds of activities and as a result of the influences on a person of laziness, sooner or later will lead to failure, depression and apathy.

Of course, laziness, like other human states, has a certain basis or reasons. Some causes of laziness are caused by the situation in which a person has fallen, and some by the characteristics of the nervous system and even the level of education. Among the large number of causes of laziness, psychologists distinguish the following:

organic and functional disorders in the activity of the cerebral cortex;
the presence of certain mental and neurological diseases in a person;
the use of alcohol and narcotic substances, which contribute to the emergence of passivity of the individual (they have low physical and mental activity);
negative past experience or a situation that traumatizes the psyche (laziness here performs a protective function);
chronic fatigue, emotional overload or even breakdown of the human nervous system;
depletion of physical and psychological resources;
lack of consistency between “I want” and “need” (when what needs to be done is sharply different from what is desired and acceptable for a person);
the presence in a person of a feeling (often intuitive) that performing a certain type of activity at the moment is not necessary and rational;
lack of internal readiness to perform certain actions and start solving specific problems, as well as a lack of knowledge and skills necessary for this;
a person does not lead an active, active lifestyle, prefers passivity and adheres to a waiting strategy;
high workload, the presence of a large number of outstanding cases and the inability to plan their activities;
need and desire for rest.

Depending on what symptoms and what are the main causes of laziness, in modern psychological literature it is customary to distinguish the following types:

mental laziness;
physical laziness;
emotional laziness;
creative laziness;
pathological laziness;
philosophical laziness;
laziness as a result of a mismatch of desires and opportunities.

These types are described in more detail in the table.

The main types of human laziness

kind of laziness	Characteristic
Thinking	Refusal to think about the result that a person wants to get from the implementation of a certain type of activity or the constant implementation of ineffective actions.
Physical	Refusal of physical activities, the desire to relax. This kind of laziness can be temporary or permanent.
emotional	Decreased emotionality of a person, the extinction of his emotional reactions, the appearance of apathy.
Creative	Sometimes inaction is simply necessary for creative personalities in order to gain inspiration or wait for insight from scientists.
Pathological	Here, laziness completely absorbs a person, covering all spheres of his life. May be a symptom of a serious illness.
philosophical	In this case, some beliefs of a person are the main reason for his inactivity (most often, delusions or misinterpretations of religion, doctrine, theory)
As a result of a mismatch of desires and opportunities	A kind of forced laziness, when a person wants to do something, but for certain reasons he cannot, and the classic version of laziness - a person can do something, but he has no desire to do it.

How to get rid of laziness: the most effective ways

In order to understand how to get rid of laziness, it is necessary to understand the reasons that contributed to its appearance, because you can fight the symptoms for a long time, but still not eradicate the “disease” itself. Therefore, understanding the causes of laziness is the first and necessary step towards making efforts on yourself and trying to change your lifestyle. Depending on the type of laziness and what triggered it, you can do the following:

engage in self-education and self-development;
learn to set clear goals;
stimulate the motivational sphere and focus;
develop confidence;
increase motor activity;
train your cognitive sphere;
get new impressions and diversify the manifestation of their emotions.

But if laziness is a symptom of a disease or it has become a habitual way of life of a person and the most acceptable strategy for his behavior, it is necessary to turn to specialists for advice. So, in some cases, it is necessary to undergo medical treatment, and it will also be possible that a regular consultation with a psychologist will be enough.

If laziness is not a pathological condition, and a person has enough resources and shows a desire to fight it, then he can do it quite independently. So how to overcome laziness yourself? In fact, it is not so difficult, you just need to follow these recommendations:

it is necessary to understand and analyze why one is too lazy to do something and what specifically causes such a state;
look for or create more significant motives for activity yourself (praise and encourage yourself, for example, you can promise yourself to buy the desired thing or eat candy after completing a certain task);
learn to plan your day, use time rationally and do not forget about rest;
improve your mood and learn to enjoy even small victories (listening to your favorite music tracks helps a lot, priority should be given to moving music);
for each action and for the performance of a certain type of activity, it is necessary to determine the time limits;
it is necessary to properly organize your working time and combine various types of activities (alternate mental load with physical);
be sure to introduce the rules of 5 minutes and 15 for yourself, that is, do not postpone the execution of those things that can be done within 5 minutes, and force yourself to carry out those actions for 15 minutes that will subsequently be performed on the machine;
be more optimistic and try to see a good result in the future than all the difficulties of performing the action itself;
increase your own activity (be more often in the fresh air, walk, go hiking, do some kind of sport or just dance);
not to give up in the process of fighting laziness, but to think about the efforts already expended and the soon achievement of success.

Reading time: 3 min

Laziness is a lack of diligence, an absolute lack of readiness to do something, to reveal even the slightest effort for action. From the position of science, laziness appears in the context of the volitional sphere of the individual, is perceived as its negative quality, lack of activity, motivation, unwillingness to achieve goals, the desire to relax and have time to rest. In comparison with the volitional characteristics of a person, there is lack of will, the concept of laziness belongs to it.

Psychology interprets the concept of laziness not as a disease or unhealthy condition, but as a symptom, a signal of a problem, it is a conflict between a person’s desire and his duty, the need to do.

Causes of laziness

Psychology considers the causes of laziness in several directions: the living conditions in which a person finds himself; individual characteristics of the nervous system of an individual, upbringing and a person in society. Among the most common causes of laziness, there are several described below.

Firstly, physical fatigue, when a person is tired physically, emotionally, intellectually. If the balance between rest and work is disturbed, the individual's inner strength is exhausted and the desire to do something disappears. The body and nervous system refuse to continue to work in this mode and signals the need for rest, manifesting itself through laziness.

The second problem, of which laziness is a symptom, is the loss of interest, or lack of interest at all, in the work one does or should do. The goal is not inspiring, lack of . What we need to do does not correspond to the values and interests that are significant for us at this time, the feeling of the uselessness of what you are doing. The discrepancy between “I want” and “should” is one that is exhausting from the inside. A person is obliged to do what he does not consider necessary. "Whose purpose is this?" "Who needs it?" If you force yourself to act, then resistance will naturally arise, most likely unconscious. If you force yourself to do something for a long time, which is not interesting, laziness will definitely overcome.

The next reason for laziness is this. Fear that it will not be possible to do this, that as a result of the spent energy, money, and some kind of effort, a person will not receive what is needed. So laziness performs a protective function from those actions that a person is afraid to do and which intersect with some discomfort for him. He may not be aware of this fear, he will simply be too lazy to do it. An individual may be afraid of something new for him, something in which he has never had experience, he may be afraid to look ridiculous, to get down to business and not finish it, not to acquire those dividends on which he believed hope. There may also be fear through past negative experiences, a personal traumatic situation with sad consequences.

Another reason for laziness is homeostasis. Our body strives to preserve the state that is familiar to it. The body is full, nothing threatens it, it is comfortable, it does not need to make any efforts to do something new for itself. This is how a person survives.

Also, the causes may be the presence of neurological or mental diseases, the abuse of alcoholic beverages, the use of narcotic substances, a violation in the stimulation and production of the hormone dopamine.

Studying hyperactivity in children and attention deficit disorder, the cause of laziness can also be identified as behavioral problems in childhood, emotional trauma. Separately, I would like to single out the cause of the emergence of constant, chronic laziness - this is childhood and growing up without worries, without the right to make an independent choice, without solving problems, when the mother decided and did everything for the child, did not allow him to be independent.

Analyzing all of the above, based on the causes of laziness, psychology refers to this phenomenon in several ways:

A signal that the goals are not environmentally friendly - they do not correspond to our desires and personal capabilities;

A sign of the inconsistency of the task, when our tasks require very great efforts, and the result is not worth it;

Lack of motivation, no desire and importance in;

Physical, emotional, intellectual inactivity, passivity.

How to overcome laziness?

There is a mythical opinion among people about how to overcome laziness and apathy: this is a magical psychological method, one right solution, a magical exercise that will help solve the problem. But such a unique tool does not exist. There is an internal responsibility of everyone, how a person will be able to live or serve his life, make decisions independently. And how to get rid of laziness in the individual case of each, the choice is for the lazy person himself and his responsibility.

How to get rid of laziness to a person in today's society? If you have decided to stop being lazy and are ready to take responsibility for all those events, changes that will occur in life, then it is worth analyzing the algorithm of your actions and options for working with laziness. First of all, it makes sense to study the causes of this condition.

I recalled an anecdote: “A man lies on the bed for days, his wife cuts wood and cooks, does laundry, and cleans. She was very tired, she came up to the peasant and angrily: - Why are you lying all day long, if only you could help with the household! - He calmly answers her like this: - What if there is a war, and I'm tired.

The banal cause of a lazy state can be fatigue. In this option, there is nothing more effective than rest. The only condition for such a rest: not to occupy yourself with anything consciously at all, especially what is more tiring - to watch TV, think about how to get rid of laziness along the way, analyze the past day, week, month, criticize yourself for inactivity and passivity, but just relax and rest. There is still a reliable way to overcome fatigue - active rest, changing activities to activities with pleasure. Ask yourself the question: "When did you rest so well that you felt full?" Here there is a need to think about a clear daily routine, the appropriate use of time, the alternation of physical activities with intellectual ones, staying more often in fresh clean air.

If the reason is the lack of interest, the loss of inspiration for the activity itself or its result, then the question will be appropriate: “Why should I do this?”. The answer will be an explanation of what the symptom of laziness signals, what is valuable for a person, where to look for interest, how you can motivate yourself, inspire you to move towards the result of the assigned goal. If you force yourself to do something uninteresting, then there will be no result. There will be internal resistance. If there is no satisfying clear answer to the question asked, then it is worth figuring out whose goal the person is realizing, who needs it. Maybe a lazy state protects a person from inappropriate waste of energy, time, personal resources. It is recommended in this variant to look for personal motivation, it is worth using praise, the promise of encouragement, the fulfillment of desire, which is closer to the individual. It is important to see the pleasant and joyful in the little things, to learn to enjoy minor victories more.

How to get rid of laziness, the cause of which is fear? Laziness here plays a positive function, protecting us from discomfort, unpleasant sensations and consequences. Fear is often unconscious, so it is extremely difficult to understand the cause of laziness. It is advisable to trace what is painful in such activity, what we are afraid of, what we would like to move away from. Ask yourself: "What is my intrinsic benefit, what is my gain, if I refuse to do this?" Here is the best way to admit your fear, to find what specifically we are afraid of, what needs to be done to overcome internal fears. In modern society, being lazy is a more acceptable form of behavior than being afraid. But it will be useless and tiring to fight laziness when its cause is fear. It is important to understand why you do not trust yourself? What needs to be changed, tightened up, understood in order to renew one's own determination, one's capabilities, to increase confidence.

How to overcome laziness and apathy in a person if they are a symptom of depression, unwillingness to change anything, habitual way of life, legacy of upbringing or illness? Then it is recommended to contact the necessary specialists in the field of medicine for examination or treatment, work with a practicing psychologist, psychotherapist. J. Hollins wrote that depression, like apathy, is a useful message, that something vital is contained in a state of depression, and it is very significant not to run away from it, but to plunge into this stay, to feel and understand more about it, so that later you have the strength to go farther.

Any encounter with laziness implies an effort. Where these efforts need to be applied is determined by what is hidden behind the symptom. All the same, efforts will have to be applied, this state itself will not disappear. The absence of laziness does not mean doing many things, forbidding oneself to do nothing, it is about the absence in the current life of unwillingness to act, decide, move.

Basically, there are three options for not being lazy:

This is when inspiration is present, and if the case does not inspire, then the person understands how to interest himself;

When an individual has the ability to induce himself to do it. Here it is important to maintain a balance in understanding what a person needs and what he really wants. After all, if you only force yourself, you can be very exhausted from such pressure, and as a result you won’t want to do anything at all;

Accept the situation, stop criticizing yourself for your laziness. After all, laziness, perhaps, protects you from empty, uninteresting work, the end of which will not bring the desired pleasure.

In general, the symptom of laziness indicates a lack of understanding and understanding of what the individual really wants in his life. A person who is aware of what he wants can easily cope with laziness.

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"