What does it mean to be lazy?

Exploring second-order consequences of prioritisation

Abstract

It was my lunch break and I had 10 minutes left.

My phone lights up with an unexpected call.

Before I’m able to ask what’s up, the person says my name like there’s been a revelation.

“I have an idea for TTB.”

I let them speak for majority of the 10 minutes where they explain various experiences and perspectives I could talk about.

My ideas started firing to which I made sure to summarise what was said to make sure I understood.

With the promise of keeping them updated, they may have made a sequel. 👀

This is a thought piece, inspired by a friend, which looks further into your direction in a different type of self-reflection to that explored prior.

Throughout this piece, mindset is a key theme where it can develop as a result of our experiences alongside what we aim for, which is something I will explore further in the posts following this.

Discussion

A person that seems lazy to you might be the hardest working person to someone else.

We all need respite from what we do, but how you do so is what distinguishes you from other people.

Do you allocate all the free time to leisure, do you have a commitment outside of work or education, or do you reaffirm and build upon the knowledge which you have learnt?

It is not as clean cut to articulate what we do in our free time as we have our unique blend, but it is what differentiates you.

Once you consider travel, hours spent working or learning, sleep, time to eat, social life and your responsibilities, how much free time do you have?

The more free time you have, the more degree of control you have over what you do - now and in the future.

How you spend that time may be the only thing different to another person.

For me, prioritising what is important and planning accordingly ensures I use my time productively and intentionally, which keeps me motivated.

But there is also a paradox.

Where there is spare capacity, a person may have fulfilled their own minimum standard which is higher than the one expected of them.

Would you say that person is satisficing; pursuing the minimum satisfactory condition or outcome?

This also begs the question of whether the person’s attitude aligns with their aspiration.

On one hand they may be happy where they are, but conversely, another person may want more than what they have but haven’t asked the question of themselves of what it would take to get there.

Photo by Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash

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What makes a person ‘lazy’?

When I have referred to myself being lazy, I allude towards a lack of drive to improve/be better in a certain aspect.

However, this would only relate to minor details to build on the existing standards I have of myself, and so I don’t represent a state of being ‘lazy’.

It is only in reference to me selectively prioritising what matters to me most and sometimes not acknowledging the spare capacity available.

“Selectively prioritising”.

I thought deeper into this bit as one could argue that the subjective nature of being lazy is just dependent on the variance of priorities from person to person.

Due to the variance, most people would then judge each other.

But where the label of being ‘lazy’ may come in, is when someone does not prioritise improving themselves in what is common between them.

For example, more often than not, this is in relation to education or work.

What I noticed is that this mirrors my view of when I refer to myself being ‘lazy’ to an extent, as I talk about a lack of drive to improve in certain aspects.

So, what is the difference?

In my case, it is to be lazy in doing something in particular rather than a general state of being lazy, hence why reflection on priorities is required first.

If you are not aware of the priority, how can you act on it?

But this would only be in relation to what you do outside of your main priority of education or work, assuming that you acknowledge either one of them being your current main priority.

Outside of work or education, are you moving the needle closer to a goal or aspiration you have?

After all the necessary things you need to do in a day, you may be left with only a few hours to which you decide what the best way to spend that time is.

This is less about encouragement to do something that pushes your limits day in day out.

It’s quite the opposite.

The reflection here is checking whether your actions behind closed doors aligns with where you want to be as a person.

Nobody is going to tell you how to use your free time, and so if we abandon the conscious planning of how to reach our targets and goals, we will aimlessly move towards an unsatisfactory life for ourselves.

Not everyone wants to be applying pressure to themselves, to which if they are content with their actions, a person can view this as being ‘productive’ - actions that are a good use of their time and align with the direction they are going in.

Therefore, sometimes it is favourable not to acknowledge the spare capacity as an opportunity to do more.

Practically, given the existing responsibilities and priorities of a person, acknowledging the spare time they have as an opportunity would only lead to them over-exert themselves unsustainably.

However, this depends on the type of opportunity, as you may partake in something completely unrelated to what you spend most of your time on.

This could be energising rather than draining.

For me this is writing and exploring new ideas through either watching, listening, or reading.

But the only way I’m even able to recognise this as a possibility is by me being conscious in applying myself to my main priority, which would be my university course.

The Thought Base as a possibility is a second-order consequence of having my priorities organised.

Second-order consequences are ripple effects of an immediate consequence which are not so obvious at first.

For example, by waking up 15 minutes earlier than usual, you may be able to have a healthier breakfast as you have more time.

This is despite the fact that the reason for waking up early in the first place was so you don’t have to rush to get to work or school.

Therefore, through the unintended consequence of having a healthier breakfast, this serves as a second-order consequence of waking up earlier.

In the case of my course, if I was lazy in going to lectures, organising myself, and revising, then I may have had to do additional work to supplement my low efforts.

As a result, this means The Thought Base as a possibility would not have come into effect or even crossed my mind.

It all relates back to one thing.

Whether your standards are higher than those around you.

Only you should be able to call yourself ‘lazy’.

From my perspective, the way to be aware of whether you could be ‘lazy’ is if the standards surrounding you are as a result of fulfilling the minimum requirement.

What the minimum requirement looks like is when your actions are dictated by a consistent environment that you are in, meaning that you are just doing what you have to do.

These minimum requirements could be the standards expected of you or the standards set by those around you.

To ‘expect’ means “to think that someone should behave in a particular way”, which is more telling of what your priorities have been in the past, and does not take into account of what they are currently.

Although you do what you do for the sake of yourself, there perhaps is a hint of truth in other’s perceptions of you.

Even if it is a mirror that is only representative of one percent of you, if you haven’t checked your mirrors, it might be showing you a blind spot.

There is a problem if expectations of you are not representative of your standard.

To some degree you may think they do not define you, which is true.

Expectations will never hundred percent align with your standard, but the closer they do, the more opportunities for you.

But this is only when you dictate what the expectation of you is.

For example, you apply for a job with only your CV required.

Ultimately, that is what dictates a perception of who you are at heart, your motivations for applying, and an expectation/estimate of your skill level/competency.

This determines your suitability to the role.

But how representative is your CV of you, does it give a true reflection?

Because if it does, you would be more likely to get the job as you would be better able to gauge what is and isn’t for you.

On the other hand, if your CV is misaligned with you, this is a second-order consequence of confirming the expectations or lack of which surround you in your personal life.

Arguably, these expectations are also a second-order consequence of the priorities you have had in the past, and you realise its impact in the years later.

This is telling through your CV also.

You wouldn’t know the standards of those applying to the same role - hence why ‘invisible competition’ is such an important concept.

Invisible competition is the idea that there is someone out there that is always doing more than you, and as you only see a microcosm of their life, the only real competition is yourself.

Hence, even if you get the opportunity to actually see your competition, whether it be a part of the application process for example, to get there in the first place, a mindset of invisible competition is necessary to go beyond what the minimum requirement is.

But you may have noticed something.

I referred to the standards of those applying to the role.

Not the standards immediately surrounding you.

This is because, remaining at the standard immediately surrounding you and not estimating the standard that you should have for yourself is complacency.

Where you and I sit today is as a result of a culmination of experiences.

Have we been tenacious enough in developing ourselves to improve our standards and surpass the minimum standard expected of us consistently?

Conclusion

Part of becoming the person you want to be is observing your surroundings.

Is it indicative of you or does it need to change?

Your physical environment, from your room to the people you associate with is more telling of your mental environment than what you say.

It is our responsibility to uphold our standards, but also make sure they continue to be defined by us and drive us towards our aspirations.

This post is bigger than laziness and isn’t just about being relentless.

Who you are and what you stand for aren’t always mutual; who you are is a judgement of the culmination of your experiences, past priorities, and current aspirations, whereas what you stand for goes deeper.

Your values, morals, and perspective, which altogether create your current standards.

These are the same standards that create your surroundings.

Are they conducive to develop you or simply sustain what you have?

We will explore this paradox alongside complacency, as your surroundings can have a complex effect on your mindset.

Stay tuned.

P.S.

Are you in control of the standards expected of you?

New Series coming soon…

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