How to Overcome Laziness, by Paul H.

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I understand that there are people who suffer from a variety of health-related issues that sap them of their strength and energy. Seek medical attention for these symptoms. Most of us, however, suffer from old-fashioned laziness. These suggestions are for those of us who are… lazy.

I would have written this years ago, but… I’m lazy. So this comes from the perspective of a lifelong practitioner and subject matter expert.

As a child I always figured the easy way out of most everything, especially school work. I would put assignments off until the very last minute and then throw something together. I was smart enough to get by but occasionally I’d be embarrassed. Not embarrassed enough to change my behavior, just embarrassed. I’ll empty the trash… later. I’ll mow, pick up my room, walk the dog… later. I graduated 434th in my high school class of 435. Go figure…

I also got in the habit of never finishing anything I started. It’s easy to get started, but it takes character and resolve to finish most any project. Quitting is a symptom of laziness.

My Time For Change

Things began to change when I became a Christian at age 18. As I read through the book of Proverbs in the Bible, it began to dawn on me that I more resembled the fool than the wise man. Ouch… I was the fool. But until we come to grips with reality, change for the better will not likely occur. Part of that realization was that laziness was not only occasionally embarrassing, it was harmful and therefore sinful.

A curious thing I have noticed over my past 45 years as a believer, is how few mentions of this all too common character malady there are in sermons. Oh maybe an honorable mention here and there, but almost never head-on and at length. I had to search YouTube for an example of an entire sermon dealing with this topic.

There was one exception to this and that was an old fashioned preacher I sat under for the first several years after becoming a Christian who would rant and rave about quitting. He hated quitters and communicated that very clearly. He had an expectation that his hearers would stop sinful/undesirable behavior and begin to live a new life after placing their faith in Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. Not all that common anymore. That made a lasting impression along with gradually recalibrating my decision making to align with the instruction manual (The Bible). I eventually decided that this issue in my life needed to change… later. That’s right, the problem itself prevented speedy resolution. However, God is patient and progress was made…gradually.

And so for the last 45 years I’ve been chipping away… It’s a process, not an event.

In regards to preparing for certain unseen events that may or may not occur, the principles are universally applicable. Sloth in preparing will lead to an undesirable outcome. Laziness in any part of our lives, whether it is our job, relationships, finances, education, spiritual life, prepping, etc… will cost us a price we will ultimately be unwilling to pay. But pay we will. Consequences can be positive or negative. We cannot control everything, but we can do something.

Some Practical Suggestions

Here are some very practical suggestions that have helped me and that I hope will be helpful to you.

  • Ya gotta get tough and make a decision. I’m not going to keep doing this anymore! Say it out loud!!! See Bob Newhart: Just Stop it!
  • Stop deciding whether or not you “feel” like doing something. If it needs to be done, then “decide” to do it. Nobody brushes their teeth because they “feel” like it. They do it because it needs to be done. This is huge! “Decide” instead of “feel” your way through decisions. All of them…
  • Make a list, keep it realistic, and then attack it. Mark off what you have completed and develop an appetite for “accomplishment”. This is big. Really big.
  • Live by a schedule (list) and plan ahead for activities that need to happen. Marking them off as you go will help develop a sense of accomplishment.
  • Read every verse in the book of Proverbs in the Bible that deal with laziness/slothfulness, or just foolishness in general. Google it. This may hurt, but it will help calibrate your attitude to reality. No point in lying to yourself about yourself. OBTW, God knows, so don’t try to represent yourself to Him that you are something you’re not. Might as well be brutally honest. Saved from what? Yourself…
  • List problems caused by your laziness. Seriously, get out some pen and paper and write down a list & then sit back a look at that for a while. This will likely provide surprising motivation.
  • List ways these problems could have been avoided. Basic cause and preventative corrective action and then write down the path forward (list) to undo, alleviate, and avoid those negative consequences. Root cause is tough because it requires honesty.
  • Manager counseling a young employee: “You’ve been late your first three days on the job. Do you know what that means?, he asked. Response: “It’s Wednesday?“ Negative consequences are mostly our own fault. There, I said it!
  • Get tough and Do Something! I mean step out, get off the couch and get started. Years ago, when I finally did, the results were… rewarding.
  • Limit sleep. Sleep on a realistic schedule. Eat better to avoid drowsiness (don’t overeat). Nobody needs 10-14 hours of sleep a day! Stop it! Get up and do something!
  • NEVER hit the snooze button! NEVER!
  • Understand that laziness is SINFUL! It isn’t ok. It will damage your life and the lives of those around you who depend on you. Oh, and laziness-slothfulness will bring you to poverty and all that goes with it.
  • Watching television-video games, Facebook, surfing the Internet, reading and YouTube are fine in very small doses. These are otherwise huge time-wasters. Warning: As our society becomes distracted by social media, it will become easier and easier to respond to problems in society in an impersonal way. Read… narcissistic. We need to interact at a personal level. We just do.
  • Keep an active list of things to fill in dead space in your schedule: learn something, plan something, write something, build something, memorize something… something!
  • Watch/listen to a sermon on laziness on YouTube or search online for sermons on this. There is a lot of gobbledygook/psychobabble out there on this issue, but looking for something or someone to blame it on will just make you a victim. A lazy victim. A poor discouraged depressed victim.
  • Ask for help. It’s called prayer. He knows our condition and is delighted to assist us in changing direction (repentance). A change in direction that aligns with the instruction manual (Bible).
  • We all struggle with laziness from time to time, but “NEVER-NEVER-NEVER surrender”.
  • Develop a list of quotes, jokes, Bible verses, pithy statements about laziness and review often. See it for what it is. Undesirable.
  • Think on purpose. Don’t be lazy in your thought processes. Think it through, research it, study, learn, question it and always calibrate (align) to the instruction manual (Bible). Don’t fire half-cocked. Proverbs 18:13 tells us to get as much information before we respond to prevent embarrassing yourself.
  • Clean up-dress up-and… here it comes… the “E” word… exercise. If you feel better and have more energy you just might act better. Discipline and self-control are the enemies of laziness.
  • Don’t bother getting discouraged, depressed or disappointed. Those things aren’t on that list you are going to make! You will be too busy for all that. If you genuinely don’t have anything to do, go do something for someone else.
  • A psychiatrist will just help you find someone or something to blame and then prescribe a psychotropic drug that will make you feel good about being lazy. Remember Nancy Reagan; “Just say no!”
  • List the financial advantages of being lazy… it will be easy, there are none!
  • The opposite is true also. You can learn how to buy, fix, and sell investment properties yourself. The IRS and all the people you hire will appreciate the effort. You will also learn something, earn something and get free Exercise.
  • Don’t be a spectator, jump in and participate. Don’t live vicariously watching others live.
  • Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not transpire the way you think, so all we really have is today. Let’s not squander it. “If you’re not where you’re at, your nowhere” Bob Roy, Retired Pastor and Missionary.
Laziness and Preparedness

So as this applies specifically to preparedness, there needs to be some sense of urgency, since we never know what is around the next corner. I’ve tried to address what is probably the most common impediment to being prepared at some level for things to come.

I remember waking up, getting my morning cup of coffee, turning on the news and seeing that overnight, seeming out of the blue, Saddam Hussein had invaded Kuwait and was a serious threat to Saudi Arabia and world oil supplies. The lesson was unmistakable; change, sometimes Big Change can happen while we are locked in normalcy bias.

We can’t anticipate everything, but something is always better than nothing. Our world appears to be changing fast, and not for the better. It’s time to shake off the cobwebs and do what we can. My intent is to be encouraging, however blunt and uncomfortable my approach may have been. Change and progress is possible! Oh… and most important of all, Know the Lord Jesus!

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:20.


44 Comments

  1. Amen! I have a bent toward sinful laziness that I have to incessantly fight against. I have been off social media since shortly after engaging in it around 10 years ago. Yet my laziness still persists. The book of Proverbs is strong motivation, inspiration, and instruction to claw my way up out of laziness. The “life-hacking” lifestyle promoted by many has propagated laziness astronomically and has helped decrease the engagement of one’s own brain power and original thought. Some of the best lessons I learned growing up were by “doing”. Some of the original “prepping” mindset that I learned from early on was due to the fact my family was quite poor in the financial sense. We definitely lived by the maxim “use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without”. There was no other choice. When things did wear out, we had to learn how to fix them, because there was no money to replace things. I can’t tell you how many times I dismantled a tape player down to individual pieces and reassembling it just to be able enjoy some music recorded off the radio. My father began teaching me and my siblings how to cook around age 8 and by 10 we could cook a real breakfast (not pour a bowl of Eugenic-O’s) on our own. I am so grateful that my father did not push us away when we wanted to be right by his side while working on our vehicles. I learned priceless lessons during those times. I can distinctly remember learning how to pack wheel bearings around the age of 12-13. Measuring twice in order to cut once is a golden lesson in practical wisdom. Learning to make do with what you have as a child will pay handsome dividends in adulthood. Getting back to the original line of thought: Even with what I have learned growing up, I still have to fight laziness in myself. I’m trying to make sure I teach things to my children to help them to fight as well. I am working to do as my father did and not push my children out of the way while I’m doing “adult work” and allow them to see the hard work that has to be done. I want them to learn the valuable lessons that I did growing up. I’m learning as a parent now, as well, the hard work it takes to teach those lessons in effective ways. Thank you for this article, Paul, and may God bless you in your fight against laziness.

  2. Hey Paul, excellent article! A lot of practical things I can apply to my life.

    Some thoughts on that huge time waster, television. In high school, my dad and I were supposed to go on a week-long father & son camping/canoeing trip. A week before we were supposed to leave, my dad cancelled the trip because a Watergate special was coming on TV that he couldn’t miss. I was pretty disappointed and went out and sat on the porch swing. I decided right then and there that I was never going to own a television set. I raised my kids without television and we were constantly doing all kinds of fun projects and outings, and learning new skills. One of the other parents in our tiny little town approached me one day and said, “Your killing me! My kids are constantly asking my why they don’t get to do as many fun things as the St. Funogas kids!” My kids all learned to read by the time they were four and were all avid readers. They all grew up and married and decided to not have a television as well. Their kids are growing and learning to be creative, avid readers, have wild imaginations, build things, learn skills, and dream big. I’ve thanked my dad many times for cancelling that trip. The benefit has affected three generations of his descendants in ways that nobody could have imagined, just because they all grew up without TV.

    About the time my dad was cancelling that canoe/camping rip, I had a very early John Denver album with a John Prine song on it that was to be one of the goals for my life. This was the chorus:

    Blow up your TV, throw away your paper,
    Go to the country, and build you a home,
    Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches,
    And try an’ find Jesus, on your own.

    My advice to anybody is to blow up your TV! After you get over the withdrawal pains, you won’t regret it and you’ll be amazed at how much time you have for more worthwhile projects.

    1. AMEN! Thank you for sharing, St. Funogas! We agree… VOTE NO on TELEVISION! Although we have not had paid television in years, we do enjoy internet based videos on gardening and other helpful tutorial style programs. But that’s it. …and NO SOCIAL MEDIA. Our company technically has an open page, but we don’t do anything with it, and we want no part of it. That’s another time waster. People ask us all the time how we manage to do so much, and we tell them… We don’t watch television. We don’t participate in social media. This is how we accomplish so much, and we wouldn’t trade all the ways in which we are able to engage real life and living because of these choices.

    2. Paul, I quote: “And so for the last 45 years I’ve been chipping away… It’s a process, not an event.

      In regards to preparing for certain unseen events that may or may not occur, the principles are universally applicable. Sloth in preparing will lead to an undesirable outcome. Laziness in any part of our lives, whether it is our job, relationships, finances, education, spiritual life, prepping, etc… will cost us a price we will ultimately be unwilling to pay. But pay we will. Consequences can be positive or negative. We cannot control everything, but we can do something.”

      It’s a process not and event. Oh, so true.

      StF of the No TV. Like St Francis of Assisi. I applaud your courage and determination in the face of a culture that, I am sure, tried to seduce your young’uns to the tube. These children were greatly blessed to have you as a father.

      Carry on, in grace

  3. Love Bob Newhart! Sadly, I am one with medical conditions. Many tests and copious blood vials later, the only thing they found was a very low T. Shots and gel don’t work as they should. I can get tired anytime, anywhere. My body and mind shut down as I fall asleep. I have also gone from leading over 70 people and managing over $300M of equipment to having a hard time keeping simple tasks in my brain. My wife and others say it is the stress I have been under the past 1 1/2 years. I don’t know, but it does scare me at times. I am very close to retirement and I have concerns that I will not be able to do the things I want to do. Any Prayers appreciated. Seriously.

  6. Very nice article and style of writing. You seemed to be sharing from your own experience rather than preaching at people.

    Lazy has never been one of my problem, but I’m very familiar with it since I raised 6 teenagers. LOL.

    I think the advice of doing a “topic study” in the Bible is a good one. A long time ago, I wanted to know what the scriptures said about speech, things we say, etc. If you search for “tongue” or “mouth”, you’ll find a lot of interesting scriptures. I took the guidance from the Bible to heart and have sincerely tried to practice it, though I quite often fail to guard what comes out of my mouth (or from the tips of my fingers as I type). When I’m quick to anger, I fail.

    Regarding health issues: I get it. So, for the crowd of us who have serious health problems, “rest” is on my To Do list. If I don’t rest or sleep enough, I can’t function, or one of my health issues becomes a huge issue that I have to get treated with drugs and I try to avoid drugs. I keep a running list of things I’d like to accomplish each day, down to the detail of getting a shower and washing my hair. I have a rule, that I must accomplish 3-5 things on my list each day. Some days I can do much more, most days I can barely get the 3 things done. I extend grace to myself for not performing at previous levels. People with health issues can easily become depressed at their inabilities, so I say out loud “GOOD JOB!!” every time I get something done, and that makes me laugh out loud. If I tend to myself, then I’m able to accomplish a lot more than many people because I’m consistent, and consistently in prayer. I know that it is only by the grace of God that I am alive and still kickin’!

    1. SaraSue! Your ability to persevere is an inspiration, and we hope that when you are resting, you can do so with peace of mind, heart and soul.

      1. Thank you. Yes, because I am grateful for what the Lord has done for me, I am at total peace. Even tho, I wish I could do a million more things, I am thankful that I’m here to be a mother and grandmother, sister, and daughter.

    2. Hey SaraSue! Your comments had me laughing out loud, which is always a good thing. 🙂

      Teenagers! When I was a teenager my dad used to tell people, “My kid’s not afraid of work. No siree! He can lay down right next to it and go to sleep.”

      “I say out loud “GOOD JOB!!” every time I get something done, and that makes me laugh out loud.”

      lol, I thought I was the only one that did that. After a great batch of hash browns, I usually say, “Darn I make good hash browns!” “Man, this is the best chili in six counties!” Sometimes I say it to the cat but it’s very entertaining and makes me laugh out loud, like you said. 🙂

      Here’s a tip for getting more than 10 things done each day. It’s all about how you construct your list!

      1. Wake up.
      2. Get out of bed.
      3. Get dressed.
      4. Make coffee
      5. Brush teeth while coffee water is heating up.
      6. Feed the cat on the veranda.
      7. Make toast with honey.
      8. Pour coffee.
      9. Find phone.
      10. Read survival blog with coffee and toast.

      See? I get ten things done before 6:30 each morning! I used to be able to move mountains before breakfast, but now that I’m more geezified, I make easier lists.

      Hang in there! And keep us laughing. 🙂

      2. Shortly after we got married, my husband watched me look in the mirror first thing in the morning. I was quite a sight, mind you, in a scary sort of way. I pointed at the mirror, and said to myself (with a dramatic flair) “Dang, good lookin’! Don’t you EVER die!”

        He cracked up laughing…and so did I! :). I then proceeded with getting myself together!

      3. I love your style. I talk out loud to myself all the time. And I laugh a lot. I used to make lists like that, especially going through cancer treatment.
        1. Get out of bed, don’t worry about getting dressed it’s highly overrated.
        2. Make it to the bathroom or you’ll have to wear Depends.
        3. Try to make coffee without making a mess, but who cares if you do.
        4. Try to get to the lounge chair without tripping, but if you trip, aim for the chair.
        5. Hope that food drops from heaven that I can eat and keep down, but if not, saltine crackers and top ramen are mighty tasty.
        6. No matter what, DO NOT LOOK IN THE MIRROR because that person is in no way a representation of who you really are.
        7. Stop asking yourself what you’ve accomplished each day. “woot, woot, woot, woot, stayin’ alive, just stayin’ alive”
        8. Brush.Your.Teeth!! Thank God I still have hair and pony tails are still “in”.
        9. Okay, nap time!
        10. What day is it? Where am I?
        …
        Everything is going to be fine. God didn’t bring me this far just to drop kick me. I am a million miles away from those dark times and I feel really good most days. I’m just a lot slower, and a little denser, than I used to be.
        #NeverLazy

        1. Absolutely hilarious, SaraSue and St. Funogas! THANK YOU for the wonderful laughter — and life perspective. You are both simply delightful!

        2. Hey SaraSue, haven’t laughed this hard all week. 🙂 I have #6, 9 and 10 down, I guess I’m 30% there. I also have the slower and denser part perfected. Hang in there!! Gotta go see if I can get all this coffee out of my nasal passages now. Note to self: no more coffee while reading SaraSue’s posts.

  7. Epic insights! We live in the laziest generation in the last few 100 years. Not hyperbole. People are distracted by alt realms, fantasy, friends on socials 1000s of miles away. Making Gen XYZ and producing worthless idealism. Socialism on speed and lazy SJW’s who wanna steal other people’s stuff.

    100 years ago, people spoke 5 languages, read Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Spanish/French. Including George Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln. Today, they are tearing those forefathers down! (and that really means they have no regard for those of us who esteem the Constitution, or laws, or morality). First they burn the books (websites of conservatives). Then statues (even abolitionists!). Then…. they actually commit atrocities. Lazy, miserable Communists – the Monsters of Marx.

    The Bible is sound guidance for 2020 and beyond! Thanks for writing!!!

      1. Hey Marine, great link on Wendell Berry, thanks for sharing.

        “But it’s the people you listened to as a child whose influence is immeasurable — especially your grandparents, your parents, your older friends. I’ve paid a lot of attention to older people.”

        Boy he hit that nail on the head. I can’t even imagine how my life would have turned out with all the mentors I had who were “old” but had time for me and taught me a lot.

        “If you’ve got 300 million people, most of whom produce nothing for themselves or for the community and to whom everything has to be brought from somewhere else, then there’s no way you’re going to have limited government, or limited anything. All organizations feed upon the helplessness and ignorance and passivity of the people.”

        That speaks volumes on why most self-reliant people have such a hard time dealing with the government at all levels.

        He also makes lots of great comments on free-range kids, and how today’s kids “don’t even go into the woods and hunt.” 🙂

        1. Wow, you plucked some gems from brother Wendell’s interview, StF. I’m glad you enjoyed the man’s deft critique of our current situation.

          Carry on in grace

      2. I was fortunate to have met Wendell twice. Once in Decorah, Iowa and once in Mandan, North Dakota. He received ovations at both speeches that he gave. He is quite the type of man that people need to listen to. He has a good balance of plain old-fashioned common sense and country humor – a great story teller.

        I will second your statement that he is “My kind of fella”.

  8. A quote from Ernest Hemingway, You can’t write about life unless you you live it…. Thankyou Paul for sharing your battle with us. Well written and well lived. Gods blessings!!

  10. One of my first bosses was very organized; every morning we would meet, he would insist that we each right down 5 things to be done that morning and prioritize them, 1 thru 5. After comparing notes we would do the list. When that ran out, another list and so on through the day. Anything left at the end of day was added to the next day and handled first. His point was that 5 was a reasonable number that didn’t over whelm.
    One of his comments about the number of five projects that stuck was “Don’t allow yourself to be emotionally constipated because of the work load, the wall of things to be done, or the demands of the day. Find one thing and start, ignore the rest and then work the list.”
    Sometimes that wall of things to be done is truly intimidating until you find just one thing to pull on.

  11. I was going to reply earlier but I put it off. Hehe

    I have had a decent work ethic most of my life. It really formed and became what it was to become in my early teens. I got a job working at a local dairy farm. I quickly learned that there is always work to do. The job is never done. There were a few times when we had really bad weather such as a snow storm or a long steady all day downpour and the owner would tell us that we could take the time off and go home between milkings. He had basically cancelled the planned work that we were supposed to be doing outside. Everyone else would head home and work around their houses except for me. I always had a list of projects that I wanted to get done if their was time available. Some were simple and rather meaningless such as organizing nuts, bolts, and nails in bins to more involved things like replacing indoor fence posts (which included busting out concrete and pouring new). In the end though, it all paid for itself such as if I needed a certain bolt I knew exactly where it was instead of digging around searching for 15 minutes or more. I was always busy up until I moved into an apartment. Their regulations pretty much prevented me from doing anything besides cooking, eating, and sleeping. Talk about driving a person insane. And more recently, my current medical issues which I hope are soon resolved prevents me from doing 90% of my normal day-to-day things. I am not lazy, it is just that I am not able to do much physically or visually. But, I am making a nice little to do list (mentally since I can’t see the words on paper) so that as my current t problems are resolved I can get working on them.
    To me, a person is being lazy when they choose not to do something even though they have the available time and are physically and mentally able to do so.
    My grandfather helped instil some work ethic as he was always busy for years. Always doing something from morning to night everyday. He was like that up until his Alzheimer’s progressed to a level he was not able to do those things mentally. And as time progressed he was not able to physically do the things that he did remember how to do a certain thing. I wouldn’t consider any of that laziness because he was not able to mentally or physically perform those tasks. Before Alzheimer’s, he was one of the hardest working people I ever met even after he retired from his job.

    1. Hi INPrepper, lots of nuggets of wisdom in your comments, thanks for sharing.

      “My grandfather helped instill some work ethic as he was always busy for years. Always doing something from morning to night everyday.”

      My grandpa was the same way. Never owned a TV and was always doing something. He was one of the busiest people I ever knew and was active until he was 94. He did a lot to help others and either didn’t charge them or charged them a price that would have been good in 1935. When I was young, I thought he just didn’t keep up with inflation, then as I got older, I realized he just liked to help people of limited means since he grew up so dirt poor himself. He was probably the most influential person in my life and I’ve tried hard to emulate of lot of what he did. Somebody asked me once if I could talk to any person in history for 30 minutes sitting on a park bench, who would it be? They expected me to name some great historical figure, but without hesitation I said, “My grandpa.”

      I hope your medical problems are resolved soon so you can get back to being busy again. Good luck with everything. 🙂

      1. Thanks St. Funogas.
        My grandfather grew up poor as well. He would tell me little snippets of stories of things back in those days.
        I second the person you would want to talk to for 30 minutes.

        Regards

  13. Dan… my wife has similar symptoms…found out she has mold toxicity that is slowly deteriorating her body, mental capacity. Found a promising book that explains how to heal from it. A long, slow process. Actually two books, both by Neil Nathan MD. Toxic: Heal body from mold and Mold and mycotoxins: Current evaluation. The first book is more current info, plus his treatment plan. Good luck. God bless you.

  14. 1. Set goals
    2. Make a plan(s) that would allow you to achieve those goals.
    3. Work your plan
    4. Review your plan and make changes as needed
    5. Repeat.

    A goal without a plan is a wish.

  15. Humorous! Some writers have all the style… When it comes to preparedness, some laziness can also be attributed to denial. Denial is a very bad place to be.

  16. A major consideration is that even if your children are little on the lazy side you should know they are watching the parent working her/his tail off.

    I made sure that my two kids (boy and girl) helped with projects but also allowed generous play time. Actually, more than generous play time.

    As adults, my two kids are the hardest workers well beyond my expectations. They certainly absorbed the work ethic through some sort of osmosis. And they are very successful people.

    That is the payment for being a hard working parent/adult.

  17. An excellent read! I understand and can sympathize with those of you who have health problems that limit your physical ability. But realize that we don’t have to be constantly up and moving to be productive. When we need to rest, we can use that time to read or how about writing a letter… you know, the kind that takes a stamp! The opposite of laziness is not busyness. It is unproductiveness. We can use our down time to pray for our family and our country. We can study a subject. We can called a friend to check on them. Laziness shows. A lack of motivation, not a lack of physical movement!

  18. Terrific article Paul! You’ve been spying on me. 🙂

    I know this has nothing to do with laziness, but you really need to watch the video of this Florida sheriff. This will bring a smile to your face and have you cheering in agreement.

    Florida Sheriff To Deputize All Local Gun Owners To Put Down Riots?

    https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/megan-fox/2020/07/02/amazing-florida-sheriff-threatens-to-deputize-all-local-gun-owners-to-put-down-riots-n597418

  19. What has helped me most through life is just do the next thing. Looking at a day’s worth of chores can be daunting. If you’re really lazy, start with the smallest, easiest task. There’s always a feeling of accomplishment. I also learned that starting is 90% of the job. Lastly, I liken keeping fit to salvation: It’s a one-time commitment. Just do it. You cannot have the same argument with yourself every day and get anywhere with it. I’ve been able to stay very fit since I first started in 1976. I refuse to argue with myself and just get going. What I call “look out the window syndrome” doesn’t cut it. Open the door and get out there. All the best. Love to read your comments.
    God bless America!

  20. I started out as a lazy guy too. Graduated high school with straight D’s. I had kids at 20. I lost everything at 23, job, family, everything. Then God saved me. He gave it all back and more. When the kids were young and growing up (long time ago) we had a saying amongst ourselves “don’t tell me what you are going to do, tell me what you did”. People would always tell us what they were going to do and they sounded great. But seldom completed. It helped us to raise a family of doers. We are list people, we are so weird most of us make lists for our days off. Great article and advice, l loved it. Thank you.

  21. In my younger years, I worked for a large organization that often provided educational seminars of various kinds for its employees. One I particularly remember was a motivational speaker whose theme was a slight variation of a quote attributed to Mark Twain: “If you know you have to swallow a frog, swallow it first thing in the morning. If there are two frogs, swallow the big one first.” It’s such an outrageous statement, but that made it stick in my head all these years.

  23. “And so for the last 45 years I’ve been chipping away… It’s a process, not an event.”

    And yet you looked for A sermon (singular) to fix it in one fell swoop? 😉

    Listen MORE closely to GOOD preaching – you’ll notice, those Pastors address it as a “process,” too.

  24. This man has a great suggestion for getting your day started right.
    US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven, one of the most decorated US commanders, delivers one of the best motivational speeches you will ever hear.

    https://youtu.be/TBuIGBCF9jc “Make your bed first thing.”

    “Life is a struggle and the potential for failure is ever present, but those who live in fear of failure, or hardship, or embarrassment will never achieve their potential. Without pushing your limits, without occasionally sliding down the rope headfirst, without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.”
    ~ US Navy Admiral William H. McRaven
    Get Adm. McRaven’s book, “Make Your Bed”: https://amzn.to/2utFeyV

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