It all takes effort

Everything in life requires some degree of effort. Sweeping a porch doesn’t require the same amount of effort as building a porch, but both require the motivation to get the job done. A lot of us coast off of motivation, others have moved past motivation into discipline. Regardless, there’s a lot of thinking that centers around the idea that being lazy requires no effort. I find this funny, because often enough, trying to get out of one’s duties and shirk on your responsibilities often means putting in more work just to escape the obligations or commitments. Sitting on the couch all day and flipping through channels is just effort wasted on putting off what you need to be doing. Willpower is a huge part of this equation, but often one we forget about in the face of tediousness. Perhaps the novelty or immediate need of a task will inspire us to get off the couch and get the job done sooner. For us to realize that our laziness and inertia is a product of our unwillingness to be productive rather than a “conservation of effort,” the sooner we can go about establishing habits and lifestyles infinitely more productive.

Your average person isn’t stupid, they pay attention and take notice of the things around them. More often than you realize, that’s probably you. The rate at which you complete assignments, how well and how hard you work, and any little habits you may have are constantly scrutinized by the people you live and work with. Your ability to put forth effort and turn your inertia into energy to move yourself, the more you’ll find yourself balancing your idle time with productivity. You’ll begin making more conscious decisions to put effort into knocking out your to-do lists instead of complaining and making excuses. Instead of ordering a Big Mac or a Whopper or whatever fast food culinary monstrosity is popular, you’ll find yourself going home with the drive to cook something healthy. You’ll find yourself wanting to exercise, even just a little when the time is scarce, all because you’ve started engaging in a mindful effort to redirect your energy. It all takes effort, but how you manage and direct that effort makes more of a difference than most ever get the chance to imagine.