In many ways, I’m lazy.
I do my best to make the best of my time and be wise with the days and hours I’m given. But, sometimes, I hit snooze rather than getting up early to pursue my dreams. Dreams of being a great writer. Dreams of reading great books. Even dreams of exercising physically and spiritually, practicing disciplines. And I look at what I get accomplished each day, next to the original plan, I see a huge discrepancy in the wrong direction.
Many of us experienced a time change this week and gained an “extra” hour. I had plans of using the time to do something different with my hair and get to church early. But after I got up, I ended up wasting a few minutes here and there, until I only had about 10 minutes left of that “extra” hour. So why do I say “lazy,” you ask? Isn’t that a bit harsh?
True, calling myself lazy is harsh. Especially since I get quite a bit done each week. But lazy is defined as “unwilling to use energy.” And sometimes, I am just that.
So, what’s the source of my lazy? Why do I miss deadlines, or miss working out or writing in the morning because I hit snooze repeatedly? Much of it is about a general lack of rest.
Often the folks who are ‘on the grind’ as a lifestyle, rather than a hopeful social media status, are able to do so because they plan their time and execute well. And good execution gives way to better rest. Downtime is actually replenishing because we aren’t rehearsing all the things left undone. Therefore, lazy isn’t always an indictment of character, but sometimes represents a lack of rest which forces us to move some things around into a less convenient schedule.
Do you have experience with the grind? Or, perhaps you know someone who seems to consistently end up just behind the 8 ball. Five minutes late here, ten minutes behind there. Lethargic. Inactive. Lazy.
When the time changed this morning, I had thoughts, but not a specific plan about how I’d use the extra time. And I wasted it. Not because I’m a terrible person, but mostly because I’m tired. In the last 3 days, I took naps of nearly 2 hours each day and had trouble concentrating. I didn’t realize why until today. Earlier this week, I turned in a draft of my first book to my editor. Anxiety of the unknown coupled with the emotions of sharing something so personal took a toll that I didn’t realize. But my body did. And she took her rest.
Let’s learn to give ourselves permission to rest. Allow our bodies time to replenish. This isn’t an invitation to a lack of discipline. It’s a summons to proper rest, and in turn, hopefully our best work.
So yes, in many ways, I’m lazy. And some days, that’s quite alright.