Is laziness real or only a myth?

Has anyone ever called you a lazy person? May be you have noticed this unproductive feature of character in yourself on your own? Even though you might be completely sure you are not a lazy person even up to the smallest extent, there is still a quite strong chance you regard at least one person in your surroundings as someone lazy.

Although laziness is not something dangerous, sometimes one can become rather frustrated while dealing with a slothful person. Still, many modern psychologists are claiming there is no such feature of personality as laziness. According to them the behaviour typical for work-shy people is just a symptom of some other problems. Let’s look at them together and find out how you can address them.

Laziness and fears

One of the popular problem which can be expressed by appearing as a lazy person is some kind of a fear. There are different types of fears and some of them are usually expressed by the behaviour typical for a person whom we consider a lazy one.

The fear of failure

Everyone knows that only those who never climb don’t fell. It is obvious that while trying to make something we will make mistakes and mistakes are an integral part of any success. Yet, all people are different and not everyone has the same attitude to failures. Some people actually prefer to avoid potential mistakes even if it means they will not grow personally, develop their careers or start the relationship they are dreaming about.

If you are one of such people who is ready to postpone necessary and crucial steps in order to protect yourself from any possible mistakes, you should realise that working on your laziness will never be enough. This is a direct symptom of your low self-esteem and this issue should be addressed in the first place.

The fear of success

It might sound strange, but actually, there are many people in the world who are afraid of success and there are many logical reasons for that.

First of all, success, especially at work, as a rule is accompanied by new responsibilities. Not everyone wants to get into more demanding work since not everyone is dreaming about a brilliant career and there is nothing wrong with it. For instance, when you know a new position at work will be far more time-consuming than your current job and you won’t be able to spend enough time with your family, there is nothing strange you might start behaving as a lazy person in order to avoid such changes in your life.

Another reason for being scared by a possible success is a chance that the relationship with other people will be spoiled. A good illustration of such a situation is you getting a higher position than a person who is more experienced and has spent more time in the company. Even though such a decision of your boss might be well-grounded, others might find it unfair or become jealous of your success.

One more popular example of a relationship damaged by a success of another person is a situation in which a woman starts earning more than her partner. Undeniably, you have heard about a particular type of men who feel rather uncomfortable because of the successes of their wives.

The fear of the expectations of others

Sometimes people don’t want others to expect them to do various things or to have particular responsibilities. Then, they are subconsciously behaving as if they were rather lazy and thus, they are showing to others there is no sense in counting on them in any situations. Usually, this works well and people understand it is better to do something on their own rather than wait for your help.

Problems with communication with other people

Laziness is also a frequent indication of interpersonal problems occurring when we are failing to communicate with other people…

A hidden conflict

Hidden conflicts in couples are a rather widespread problem. Once you feel bad about something in your partner and are not able to solve this problem or simply don’t want to bring it to the conversation in order to avoid any arguments, you can start subconsciously or consciously ignoring the needs of your significant other as well as your responsibilities.

Such a type of behaviour is widely known as passive aggressiveness and it is a symptom of a problem between you and your partner rather than an indication of you being really lazy.

A need for care

Sometimes we need the help of other people in solving some problems or completing our tasks. Unfortunately, not everyone feels comfortable while asking others for help. In order to show one’s need for assistance, such people start showing others how incapable they are of doing such things in order to make you offer them your help before they have to ask you about that.

As you can see, this is also not real laziness as it is a pure psychological issue involving other people.

Don’t forget that laziness is also a frequent symptom of being too tired and needing enough rest. At the same time, it is also a frequent symptom of depression.