Laziness isn’t what holds us back.
A few months ago, I saw a video that’s now seared into my consciousness. It’s a montage of clips from a public speaker known for his tough-as-nails, no-nonsense approach to self-development. He’s the kind of guy who eats lightning and craps thunder.
In this video, he repeatedly calls the viewer—presumably some stereotypical twenty- or thirty-something guy sitting on the couch eating Doritos—a “bitch.”
Stop being a loser and go prove that you deserve to be here was the vibe and gist of the message.
I thought, “Who is watching this and thinking, ‘You know what, he’s right. I am a lazy loser’”? I picture this poor guy rifling through his closet, wiping stray tears, looking for a dusty pair of running shoes and the intestinal fortitude to go prove his worth to a shirtless internet guru.
Maybe that kind of “motivation” works for some people. And maybe some of us are lazy. But that’s not the root of the problem.
Executive coach Robert Ellis writes,
“The moon doesn’t have much gravity. If you’re on Earth and want to get to the moon, you need a lot of energy to escape the Earth’s gravity. A rocket burns more than half its fuel just to get out of Earth’s atmosphere. It takes a lot of energy to get out of your comfort zone.”
Status quo isn’t just an easy street. It has a gravitational pull that requires more than pep talks(?) and public shaming to escape. Sure, tough talk can be a nudge, especially for someone who’s already hungry for change.
But while willpower can prime the pump, the fuel burns quickly. It’s not a sustainable source of energy.
Healthy development is an ongoing, incremental shift in habit and consciousness. As James Clear writes in his record-shattering book Atomic Habits,
“The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”
If you want real change, don’t waste your energy fighting yourself. Channel it into small, consistent actions that shift your trajectory over time. Forget the internet gurus barking at you from their cold plunge tubs.
Today, maybe that’s a sixty-second meditation. Maybe it’s a walk around the office building.
It could be ten minutes in the morning without glowing screens flashing breaking “news” or other people’s agendas into your eyeballs.
Perhaps it’s one nutrient-dense meal or a handful of pushups.
The Shift
You’re not lazy. You’re not motivation-deficient. You just need small, sustained efforts aimed in the direction of your ideal. Eventually, you’ll have more energy—more willpower—and you’ll surprise yourself with your capability and power.
Success isn’t something you chase down and grab by the throat. It’s simply what happens when you consistently show up as the person you want to become—one small action at a time.
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