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. (39% of those polled even went so far as to say that they would quit their jobs if Facebook access was banned by their employers.)

*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 CULTURALLY CONDITIONED to Relax … Not too many years ago, the majority of jobs required standing on our feet all day long. In essence, if we wanted to survive in that economy, we were required to actually exert ourselves to do so. These days, the economy has shifted, and the majority of jobs require us to be seated – and many of them require us to be seated all day long. Additionally, we are told that we need more comfortable beds to sleep in, more comfortable chairs to sit in and more comfortable cars to ride in. We wake up in the morning and sit down at the breakfast table, we sit in our cars and drive to work, where we then sit at our desks for most the day, before sitting back in our cars to return home – to sit on our sofas in front of the television before lying down in our cozy beds t go to sleep. Essentially, many of us are physically resting all day – even while we are “at work”.

*We are PSYCHOLOGICALLY CONDITIONED to Relax … Not only do our reptile brains encourage us subconsciously 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 self-centered 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!

*We are EMOTIONALLY CONDITIONED to Relax … From a very early age, all humans learn that it is not wise to “bang your head on a wall”; that if a particular behavior does not reap an immediate reward, then it is wise to abandon that behavior and seek one that does so. As such, when we work very hard and receive very little reward and almost no recognition for that work (which is quite often the case in most modern societies, where workers are frequently ignored or taken advantage of), then the inclination is for those workers to simply succumb to their “Affirmation Frustration” and quit working hard.

“We excuse our sloth under the pretext of difficulty.” ~ Marcu Quintilian

RECOGNIZING Your Own ADDICTION to RELAXATION

*Do you justify “sitting around and doing nothing” by telling yourself or others that it is healthy to “balance hard work and taking it easy”?

*Do you spend more of your free time sitting than you do standing or walking or running or hiking or biking or playing?

*Is your idea of a “great vacation” sitting on the beach or next to a pool and being waited on by the employees of a plush resort?

*When you visit a new place, do you sit and “people watch” instead of going exploring?

*Do you feel like you are working to then “earn” your “me time”?

*Do you resent it when others ask you to do them favors?

*Do you sit down and rest when you are not really tired?

*Do you prefer video games to outdoor games?

*Do you prefer Internet chats or phone calls to going for a walk with your friends?

*When you are faced with a difficult task, do you procrastinate getting started on it?

*Do you ask others to help you complete a task (or even do it for you) when you could have done it yourself?

*Do you take a seat while waiting for your table at a full restaurant?

*When you go to visit your friends, do you immediately target a sofa or a chair when you arrive?

If you answered “yes” to more than two of these questions, then you are at least mildly addicted to relaxation – then you too are suffering from an addiction that is weakening your relationships, numbing your mind, and damaging your health.

Your ego will tell you that you need to have “balance” between work and play, and yet a truly healthy Balance is only found where “play” is synonymous with moving your body &/or helping others.

Your ego will tell you that it is good to be good to yourself by regularly “taking it easy”, and yet the only way to truly be GOOD to your True Self is to actively Care for others in your community, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for someone else to do the same.

Your ego will tell you that you deserve “the good life” of lazy sloth and silly fun, and yet this type of “vacation” is actually best way to waste the few precious moments of life you have been given – moments that could be spent reveling in truly Living, as opposed to watching others do the same.

“Diligence overcomes difficulties; sloth is what creates them … A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things to avoid. There will be sleeping enough in the grave.” ~ inspired by Benjamin Franklin