Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

Addiction #20 – Freedom from SLOTH
“It’s true hard work never killed anybody,
but I figure, why take the chance?” ~ Ronald Reagan
It is common knowledge that one of the primary desires of all humans beings is to live as
long as possible. What is not so well known is that most of us also believe, at least
subconsciously, that the best way to do so is to exert ourselves as little as possible. After
all, if the ego’s primary goal is to survive, and if it takes energy to do so (which it does),
then it is actually quite reasonable for the ego to want to save as much energy as possible
by doing do the least amount of work it can.
You might find this idea hard to accept. Are we really programmed to be lazy? Are we
really “addicted” to doing nothing? It may indeed sound farfetched, and yet the latest
research seems to support this premise …
*In a recent survey, American workers admitted to knowingly wasting three hours of
company time for every eight hours they were “on the clock”.
*65% of all Youtube videos are watched on weekdays between the hours of 9am & 5pm.
*64% of all employees admit to using the Internet for private purposes while at work, and
77% of all Facebook users admit to accessing their profiles while on the job.
*Most humans the world over equate “hanging out in the sun and doing nothing” with
“the good life”, and by far the most common vacation destinations are areas where
vacationers travel to do just that – nothing.
“Laziness is the quite common tendency in humans to do nothing in the face of
opportunity to do something.” ~ unknown
The SOURCE of our ADDICTION to “Being Lazy”
Aside from our innate genetic programming that seems to have us regularly choosing to
live longer by doing less, there are other influential factors that contribute to the strength
of this particular addiction …
*We are PSYCHOLOGICALLY CONDITIONED to do nothing …
Not only do our reptile brains subconsciously encourage us to save as
much energy as possible by working as little as possible, they also
encourage us to be primarily selfish beings. And it is these same selfcentered
impulses that have been shown to lead most folks to
inevitably experience deep-seated feelings of meaninglessness and
depression – “down” emotions that make us feel extremely tired and
have us desiring even more rest!
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