What a great struggle it is for many of us against laziness . That desire to leave for tomorrow (or the day after) what we have to do today (a phenomenon known as procrastination). And what envy I have, I confess, for those who are capable of not losing heart, of keeping the course towards their goal .

I just assumed that I am mastered by at least two deadly sins, but in reality almost no one escapes. At all ages and in all periods of our lives there is laziness, crouching and lurking in the background ready to dominate us.

Laziness, sloth, laziness, laziness… many synonyms for the same state of mind

Whether we are writing, working, dieting, quitting smoking, studying for a test or going to the gym, it doesn’t matter, laziness will hang over our backs at any moment to try to get us to give up our “jobs” .

Its aim is none other than to push us at all times towards pleasure; an immediate pleasure that evades us from duty, that saves us temporarily from what we do not feel like doing. It is the binomial inaction versus movement , entropy versus expansion .

Why we must free ourselves from laziness

Overcoming laziness produces inner satisfaction, raises self-esteem; while letting ourselves be dragged down by it can end up depressing us. How does this happen? You will understand now.

Let’s say my goal is to lose weight. In this situation laziness will appear as a constant invitation to give me a moment of pleasure , for example by opening a packet of crisps to temporarily escape the sufferings to which dietary discipline forces me.

After the moment of enjoyment, once the first potatoes have passed beyond the palate, the little voice of my inner father , the one who scolds us inside making us feel guilty, will turn his anger against me as a punishment: “You are incapable of maintaining a minimum of discipline! You will never lose weight! No one will want you like this! You’ll be a seal all your life!” , etc.

The string of words we are capable of saying internally should be punishable by law .

Abandoning ourselves to immediate pleasure lowers our self-esteem

The abandonment of duty for immediate pleasure automatically brings with it internal reproach. We become critical of ourselves, cruel and ruthless on many occasions, even to the point of hating ourselves. And as if this were not enough , we activate the comparison with others, whom we judge as better than us, as more capable, from the psychological bias that not being in the head of the other person implies.

In this way, the negative effect of laziness and the consequent self-reproach is none other than to affect our self-esteem: the level of appreciation and love we feel towards our own person. Laziness makes me love myself less, it lowers the consideration I have for myself .

And the less I face her, the more power she has over me. She’s like a snowball down a hill, her strength increasing as she goes. In this case the ball is made up of laziness, self-reproach and low self-esteem which as they gain strength within us depress our mood .

A reflection to face laziness and overcome it

Deep down, it’s all about attitude , that’s why there are those who are determined to face it with tenacity and there are those (I include myself there) who sometimes win and many others lose. And in this matter of life there is nothing but a recipe but to fight.

Overcoming laziness, doing what we know we have to do raises our self-esteem, cheers up our spirits and keeps us away from depression. To do this we just have to change the chip and assume the suffering that goes with going after our goal by sticking our nose in it . I insist, it’s just a matter of attitude and habit. Opting to evade or to confront. Perhaps now that you know that the issue also involves your self-esteem and your psychic health, you should think twice before letting yourself be dragged into immediate pleasure.