You may be asking, “am I lazy”? because you know you have certain lazy tendencies already. Additionally, there are important differentiators between laziness and depression that has to be clarified. Otherwise, the root cause of your behavior just can’t be figured out. Let’s figure it out together.
When I had bouts of laziness, at times it was actually because I was depressed. It was because I wasn’t feeling good about myself or the world. I didn’t want to get out of my bed and all I wanted to do was crawl inside a rock. Laziness can absolutely be mistaken with depression and it’s important to differentiate between the two.
The reason why you don’t want to get out of bed and are excited to face the world’s challenges isn’t because you’re lazy. It could be because you’re working through other areas of your life that needs to be fixed. It could be relationships, job promotions, friendships, and so forth.
When you’re asking, “am I lazy?” there’s underlying reasons and causes to those things that you need to watch out for. There’s nothing wrong with laying down in the couch and do nothing for hours on end on the weekends as a way to relax. However, there is something wrong with playing video games all day and forgetting to finish work.
If you can figure out a way to be both lazy and productive at the same time, then by all means, go ahead. However, if you’re not in that camp, you have to change something. Otherwise it’s a slippery slope between that and rock bottom. Why hit rock bottom when you could have literally avoided it? It’s all within your control.
The Difference Between Laziness and Depression
The biggest difference between laziness and depression is that laziness is a choice. You are choosing not to finish something because you don’t want to. Depression is not a choice. Depression is caused by usually external factors that caused you to have internal emotions and reactions to those factors.
I personally believe that the root cause of depression is because people care too much. They need to learn how to let go of the burdens they are carrying and start to care less and let go of things. The difference between laziness and depression is just that.
If you can honestly answer that you are choosing not to pursue a task, then that’s laziness. If you genuinely cannot answer in such a manner, then that is depression. Depression is caused by a whole set of other external factors that’s causing you to care too much about something.
That’s different from laziness where it’s caused by your own lack of motivation. The differences are crucial because the antidotes for each are different. An antidote for one isn’t an antidote for the other. Answer the question, “Am I lazy? Or depressed”? Very accurately because it actually makes a difference.
The days when I forced myself out of bed to do some work in spite of my depression was the worst. I don’t even know how I got through those times. The joys of youthful energy, I guess. I don’t have such energy anymore nor do I have the willpower to continue with such speed.
Be honest with yourself. If you’re in your mid to late 20’s, then you don’t have as much inherent energy and power as you used to. It’s the circle and fact of life.
Am I Lazy? How to Tell
Am I lazy? One way to see if you’re not lazy is to see if you can SMASH that social share button and post to your favorite social media! The articles take a very long time for me to write so if you could share the article for me, I would greatly appreciate it. In exchange, this article will bring value to you and your friends in curing laziness.
So with that said let’s get into it and how you can tell if you are lazy.
1) It’s a Choice to be Lazy
The way you can answer am I lazy? is if you are choosing to be lazy. Are you deliberately choosing not to do anything? Remember that doing nothing is better than doing a bad thing. If you are absolutely choosing not to do anything because it’s in your best interest to do so, then that is laziness.
It’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes, you need that lazy day to recharge your batteries. I always tell people how lazy I am because well, I consider myself to be a very lazy person. I try to figure out ways to get the most by contributing the least and that sometimes makes me someone who likes to cut corners.
Whatever the case is, if you are deliberately making the choice, then this isn’t even a question. You have been struck with the laziness bug. If it has been hurting your goals, then it’s time to make a change and change your position. If it has been helping your goals, then you are doing just fine.
2) You Are Lazy if You Have Lack of Motivation
Now we are getting into the bad side of laziness. If you lack motivation to do anything but sit around all day, then that’s not a good thing. You don’t have to be one of those motivation bros but you do need some level of motivation in order to improve yourself and move forward in life.
Are you fine just existing? Going through day to day life like nothing and fine while your friends achieve goals? Do their successes make you want to get out of bed to actually go out and make things happen? You know that you’re not born to just exist on this Earth. You’re born to do greater things than that.
If the answer to am I lazy is because you lack the motivation to get out of bed, then that’s not a good thing. That needs to be fixed. Not immediately but eventually. Find out your motivating points and go after it. It could be to provide for your family or it could be for a number of other supporting factors.
3) Just Haven’t Found the Right Thing to do
This is a completely fine reason. If this is the answer to the “am I lazy?” question, then there’s nothing to worry about. You may still be in the figuring it out stage and not in the I found the answer stage. It’s better to take time to figure out what you would be good at instead of diving headfirst without warning.
You’re failing, succeeding, and trying different things to see what you like to do. I would say I’m still looking for it. I like my job currently because I’m good at it but I would ever say that I am passionate about it. I’m still in the figuring it out stage. When you’re in your 20’s, that’s the time to try different things.
No one had it figured out by the time they came out of the womb. It took them time to actually see what they’re good at and take the plunge to go for it. Reed Hastings, Netflix Founder, took time in the Peace Corps before founding Netflix. Take some time for yourself. It can be just about the best thing you can do.
4) You Are Lazy if You Are Missing Deadlines
Are you actually missing deadlines, not just with work but with anything else? School? Side hustles? Paying bills? Getting back to emails? If that’s the case, then the answer to am I lazy is a yes and that needs to be changed. It’s one thing to take action that negatively affects you. It’s another to take action that negatively affects others.
Deadlines matter a lot. Some actually have consequences to you such as having a late fee. Or your boss may not be too happy that you missed a deadline. Or any other of a hundred other things that come with deadlines. Make sure something like this doesn’t happen. This is the least of a courtesy that you can extend to others.
People depend on you based on a prior conversation or agreement. It’s not a great thing to break your word. Once you start breaking your word over and over again, it starts to become meaningless. People don’t trust it as much as they should. Protect your brand and follow through on your promises.
5) Is Half the Day Gone by the Time You Start the Day?
By the time you say the words, “all right time to do some work”, is it already 3pm? If that’s the case, then the answer to am I lazy? is a yes. You don’t have to wake up at 6am in order to get things done. You can wake up at the normal times of 7am – 9am on the weekends to get things done.
However, you should not be lounging around in bed doing nothing until it’s time to go for it. Instead, you could be getting ready, doing light chores here and there, or any other of a 146 other things that you can do. Half the day should not be gone by the time you get ready to start the day.
On the weekends, I wake up between 7 – 9am and try to start my day doing light chores such as cleaning the bathroom, etc. Then I start working on my blog and creating valuable content for you. It’s been a very tough journey so far but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world.
6) Are You Still Doing Basic Daily Things?
Basic daily things such as brushing your teeth, eating well, walking around, exercising, and more. If you’re not doing any of these basic things or if you are skipping any, then that’s a very bad sign. We’re past the am I lazy? question, we’re in the breaching your health zone. Which is very bad.
Skip them once in a while and it won’t matter. However, if you skip it over a prolonged period of time, then that starts to matter. It’s a slippery slope. It’s more comfortable to skip brushing your teeth than it is to actually do it. Because it’s something that’s bothersome to do. However, it’s necessary to do as well.
Same goes with exercising. If you did nothing but stay inside all day watching TV or surfing the web, then that’s not healthy. You need some sort of human interaction and/or fresh air every single day in order to function properly. It’s not healthy. Make sure to take care of yourself every single day because you only have one body to live with.
7) Waiting Until Others do it For You Due to Laziness
Are you waiting for something to get so bad because you know your friends will do it for you because of how bad it is? Things like taking out the trash, cleaning the room, and/or cleaning the restroom? You are lazy if you literally wait until it gets so bad for others to do it for you because they are uncomfortable.
You’re supposed to create good environments for your guests. You’re supposed to be a good host. Don’t wait until others do it for you, you’re supposed to do it yourself. It’s your responsibility. Cleaning up the house for others to enjoy their stay lies solely within you.
Or if you lie around the house until your caring friends come to your aid to ask what’s wrong. We all have days where we lean on others to feel happy. However, there comes a time when it’s too much. Sharing things and asking for input is fine but completely depending on someone else isn’t.
8) Look Around Your House for Clues
Are you asking am I lazy? Well take a look around your house. Right now. Do you have a lot of unorganized stuff laying around? Are there unfinished food lying on the table because you didn’t throw it away? I’ve been there before. However, the days where I intentionally leave my apartment messy is because I’ve been so busy at work.
It’s when I literally haven’t the time to actually clean around the house. When I get really busy, there’s clothes lying around, laundry that haven’t been done in a month, and the whole nine yards. However, I always know that it’s a temporary situation, deep down inside. I always clean by the end of busy season.
You know deep down more than I do. Is it a temporary situation or is it a permanent situation that’s been like that for months? You know you need to clean but you’re just choosing not to because you’re lazy? Only you can be the judge of that. Or it could be high time to start cleaning around the house.
Am I Lazy? Know the Difference
When you’re asking am I lazy? you have to know the difference. Is it because of depression? Or is it because of burnout? You put out so much effort that there’s not really anything leftover in your effort tank? There are many angles, perspectives, and reasons to find out the answers.
Understand the differences and the nuances because the solution for each of those feelings are uniquely different. The wrong solution will have you scratching your head for months when a simple solution could have been done. It may just be that you need to take some PTO for yourself and take a breather.
The pandemic forced so many workers to work overtime and overdrive to such unhealthy levels. That led to people prioritizing work above everything else. Companies became much more demanding. There’s a reason why companies are offering $20,000+ “retention bonuses”. They’re losing people in droves.
Therefore, the answer to am I lazy may not be because of you. It may be because you literally don’t have any more spare time to give. There are inherent differences to each reason. There are many tests like above to figure out if you are lazy or not. This may be one of the most important answers you have to figure out.
You are given one gift of life. What’re you going to do with it? It’s completely up to you. Do you really want to just sit around and exist? Or do you want to go through the turbulent phases of life with so many ups and downs that come with it? Life isn’t all sunshine and roses but it’s all up to you if you want to get up and do something with it.
