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How to overcome laziness? October 3, 2007

Posted by Han in : Personal Development , trackback

What is laziness? Laziness is a lack of desire to work. It causes one to be idle and do nothing. A serious case may be a perfectly healthy and normal adult living at home without the desire to get a job or plan for his career. He has this tendency of relying on the support of someone else.

Apart from this, he has this behavior of putting off a task like mowing the lawn, washing the clothes, cleaning the house or doing homework. He will make many excuses to procrastinate but without knowing by doing so he is actually building the muscle of laziness thus making its grip stronger in his life.

So what’s the cure? How do you overcome laziness?

I think the most important thing is to see yourself having such a problem, only if you humble yourself before God and recognize your weakness. For without personal realization it is very difficult to move forward.

Next, God’s primary cure for laziness is hunger. If a man will not work, he shall not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). There is value in every person’s experiencing hunger, especially one who tends to be lazy.

The ultimate goal of a lazy person is to develop diligence. This is the exact instruction of God - Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise (Proverbs 6:6). There is something in the ant that the lazy lacks - initiative, self-motivated, urgency of time, the ability to complete the jobs, and the necessary planning for the future.

Laziness is not confined to just a few or a certain type of persons. Anyone can become its victim. Laziness develops in stages. Its gradual development begins unnoticed; and if left unchecked, laziness will disable those who obey its promptings. It will become a habitual way of life.

Lazy people need to learn the discipline of rising early. The definition of the Hebrew word “diligently” is to be up early at a task. This discipline strikes at the very heart of laziness. “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:9) If necessary, get somebody to call you. Resist the temptation to have a little more sleep. Set the alarm, when it rings, wake up and get up!

Another way to overcome laziness is to recognize the importance of TIME. Life is a race against time. You will only win the race if you realize the followings: Time is limited. Death is certain. The second coming of Christ is even nearer and certain. The maximum number of productive tears is established by God (Psalms 90:10). Days must be counted (Psalm 90:12). Time is entrusted to us for God’s works. Time is no respecter of persons; no one receives more hours in a day than another. Time is unrecoverable; every hour lost is gone forever.

Lastly, in order to overcome laziness, there is a practical thing to do – to keep a detailed record of what you do every 15-30mins. At the end of the week, evaluate how many hours were spent on sleeping, eating, resting, entertainment, and conversations, and how many hours were used for productive work.

The power of laziness cannot be underestimated, if left untreated it can be very destructive and crippling. It will hinder you to achieve great thing in your life. It is not God’s will for you to live in this manner. God has a big plan for you; do not let laziness stop you!

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