Here are 5 simply ways that helped me build a better life by talking the biggest question of my life… How to stop being lazy.
Want to be happy?
Productivity = happiness. It’s truly as simple as that.
SO
Here are 5 super simple and practical strategies that I used to cure my lazy side and become someone that I look up to.
1. Don’t set big goals… yet
This is contrary to everything you’ve ever heard, and I understand that… but hear me out.
How many times have you told yourself on New Years
“My goal is to lose 30lbs by summertime”
WOW.
That’s a huge goal for ANYONE to accomplish, not just you. If you weren’t able to hit it, it would certainly be demotivating for you and likely prevent you from further trying for quite some time. Right? Right.
Then how do we go about it?
Break it down to a smaller chunk, then form the HABIT of hitting goals.
Here’s an example:
“Today I will walk around the block one time”
This is a much easier task that will get you into the habit of exercising, which will COMPOUND.
Soon this will be a thought of “I’m already walking, may as well go one more time around” and so on…
If you want a full on guide to goal setting in general
Here’s a great PDF of EXACTLY how goal setting works and it’s importance. Explained by my personal favorite motivational speaker of all time, Mr. Jim Rohn.
2. Acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small
Understand this: You already accomplish a lot.
It’s easy to think that you don’t do anything when you don’t take note of what you’ve done.
Here’s some examples of things you should be proud of:
- Made it to work on time. This was a conscious choice and effort that had to be made to do so.
- Cleaned the house. This is easy to do, however, it’s also easy not to do. Congratulate yourself for doing what needs to be done.
- Being there/available for your kids. Kudos to those of you who decide to do what’s right. Be proud of yourself.
While they seem small, they are NOT insignificant.
So what will happen by acknowledging accomplishments?
Answer:
Everything.
You’ll begin to detach yourself from the thought of “I’m lazy” because you will be an active observer of your own life and the things you’re doing around you, which you typically don’t do.
With each accomplishment you’ll get happier and happier.
This is great because it will also encourage you to…
Accomplish more!
Say! Want to know an awesome way to make sure you stay on track??
3. Write in a journal
I know I know…
WHY??
If we’re strictly talking importance, this is one of the most important things that I would hope that you would take in.
Here you can learn the transformation that comes with journaling.
Writing takes effort as is. The process of writing down ANYTHING at all, is already a process of curing laziness all in itself. The more you write… the less lazy you become by default.
But not just that!
Physically seeing the things you’ve done throughout the day does 2 major things:
- Shows patterns in your daily process that you can slowly improve over time until you genuinely like the day you’ve set for yourself.
- Shows how little you’ve done up to that point, which will subconsciously encourage adding a couple more “to-do’s” to check off.
Whether you’re old fashioned like me and physically write it down, or type it into your notes app doesn’t matter.
Just do it.
4. Start the day off with a win
You’ve heard this before and you’re hearing it again. It’s important.
How often do you wake up angry, and then for the rest of the day you’re in an amazing and energetic mood? Truly ask yourself this.
How you start your day off literally dictates how most of the rest of the day will go.
AND
This is easy to observe and track for yourself. All you have to do is follow step 3 and this step will suddenly become clear to you.
Start your day off better = Have better days. True formula and it’s really as simple as that.
5. Shoot for progress, not perfection
This.
Is.
The.
Most.
Important.
Step.
Scenario:
It’s been a year since you went to the gym, but there you are. Working out even though you really wanted to continue your show on hulu. You’re really doing it this time instead of lounging around lazily and you’re truly proud of yourself, as you should be.
Problem:
It’s day 2 and you’re exhausted, you don’t want to workout today but keep telling yourself that you really should. You fight with yourself but ultimately decide not to do it. You’re not happy with the decision made.
DID YOU SPOT THE PROBLEM?
Because it is NOT that you decided not to go to the gym.
The PROBLEM is that you assumed that you had to. Think about it!
In the scenario provided, it had been one year since going to the gym. Yesterday you made the decision to do it and you followed through.
CONGRATULATIONS, you did infinitely better than the last 365 days and THAT’S what you should focus on.
The second that you got upset for not following through for a 2nd day in a row, you secretly told yourself it’s not worth trying.
You don’t have to hit a grand slam every day in order to stop being lazy. In fact, you don’t have to hit a grand slam every week or every month. Incremental changes stack, and they form one amazing human being.
Here’s the truth:
All you have to do in order to grow and not be lazy, is to not be in the same exact position as yesterday.
This means it can be as small as taking on 1 little additional task that will serve you either at that time, or some time in the future.
Example: Making your bed.
Lazy people don’t make their bed, so that’s where I’d encourage you to start.
Closing
There’s something I didn’t mention. These 5 steps are not just to “help you not be lazy”. That’s the bare minimum of what they will do for you.
There’s so many beautiful and amazing things in life to shoot for, there’s infinite possibilities for you and you deserve to live the life you want.
And this is where you start.
Love you and thanks for reading, I hope I was able to provide at least some type of value for you.
Your friend,
Mason