Stepping Forward (How to Overcome Laziness)

SCRIPTURE
Luke 1:79 Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God's Sunrise will break in upon us, Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.

OBSERVATION
There is nothing that God can not do if I would only allow Him and be obedient to His Voice and follow. Laziness creeps in and steal my commitment and that leads to being stagnant.
Stagnant: adjective
1.not flowing or running, as water, air, etc.
2.stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water.
3.characterized by lack of development, advancement, or progressive movement: a stagnant economy.
4.inactive, sluggish, or dull.
Stagnant: synonyms
Dormant, lifeless, dead, inert, lazy.

Hearing His Voice but not following leads to being dormant, lifeless, dead, inert which is laziness.

APPLICATION
It's time to CHANGE; it's time to QUITE being lazy. I found a great article on "How to Overcome Laziness". Here it is:

1. Try to figure out the single detail or problem which is holding you back. Most likely, the sticking issue is smaller than you think it is, and you can get past it more easily than you think. Whatever it is, don't give up until you find a way to get past it somehow. Remember, it's probably one single, specific problem or detail. Thomas Edison is the famous inventor of the light bulb who demonstrated heroic persistence and it was unquestionably a light bulb moment when he articulated that "There is no substitute for hard work" because indeed there is nothing else that you can do instead and have the recipe for success turn out as commendably. As simple as it may sound be alert to the fact that the only way for you to get something done that you personally have to do is for you to actually do it.

2. Think about the importance of the problem or goal. Is it something you can actually afford to ignore? Is it something that somebody else can help you with? Can you just forget about this and try a different approach altogether? Are you being too much of a perfectionist?

3. Convince yourself you can do something. Some who feel they might be "lazy" are actually recreating and reliving unpleasant or dreary "freezes" from childhood. No need to dig into your past but if you do feel stuck, try jumping up, do a task, and tell yourself "Despite an old habit of freezing up, I can get up right now and be productive!"

4. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Struggling with anything is harder with a sense of isolation but differentiate between tasks which are "difficult" and those which are "impossible" and note that the strength of the will power muscle is quite influential in this determination. John C. Maxwell elucidated the concept of having an "Inner Circle" and you can adopt this concept to mobilize palpable support for yourself from a positive, reliable and upwardly mobile group of persons but be prepared to reciprocate in some way. There is a saying that a tail does not wag a dog but a dog wags a tail and in a similar vein YOU master your lazy bones and refuse to allow your lazy bones to master you. There is a lot of freely available advice but depending on your budget you may also consider enlisting the assistance of a professional life coach to help you find your stride.

5. Decide to start the work, and you are well on your way to completing it. Life is difficult and the sooner you realize that this fact is not going to change the sooner you can begin to alter yourself to effectively cope with the practicalities of survival. Improve your personal attitude towards and increase your personal willingness to routinely tolerate 'constructive discomfort' because it is afterall, well, constructive. Overcome that initial inertia that is naturally there with the resolve to eat that elephant one bite at a time and the momentum and accumulated confidence to meet the demands of life will make projects a little less intimidating.

6. Appreciate the cost-benefit relationship that is the overarching scheme of life. To enjoy any benefit there is usually a cost to be suffered. Assess whether a potential benefit is worth the cost to you and if it is then be mature enough to generate the required courage, endurance and discipline to decide to confront distasteful pain for worthwhile reasons. Excellence in academics, financial autonomy, sports, the performing arts and relationships all demand steady and consistent thoughtfulness and work that strains even the best of us emotionally. Your will to survive and flourish needs to translate to your will to work and suffer when necessary and useful. There is no pride available to the cowardly.

7. Take your time. Break down your job into small steps. Find the way to do them, and do them, in a relaxed and controlled way. Focus always on one task: the one you are doing, because you'll have time to focus on the other ones. Brains tend to work inefficiently when there is constant pressure to do several things with tight deadlines.

8. Gear yourself up into action by telling yourself something like: "I want to do this; I want to do this now! So I’ll just do it and rest later". Say it out loud if you have to. You'll feel motivated after this. It may help to regularly recite an empowering mantra to yourself throughout each day such as "I am thankful to my Creator for life and I pray for the courage to make the most of it" or something more secular and succint such as "Sink or swim". You can also imagine certain activities as already completed and anticipate the sense of accomplishment that you would experience and remind yourself that at some point in the future you will be glad that you suffered through the chore.

9. Finish a step and cheer up. Completing that task will feel remarkably good, and tell yourself (out loud, if necessary) "Good stuff; you're on a roll; keep this up and you're going to make it to the end of this". Working towards little goals is actually the secret to big success: big successes are just made up of many little continuous successes.

10. Remember to reward yourself for the very small things you complete or try. If you manage to do something that you didn't the day before, you deserve a nice treat. You need to reward yourself for completing each task, in order to feel good about having pushed yourself in order to get the job done. After the 'small' task is complete, reward yourself by going for a walk for a few minutes or eat some snack or some other small reward/break (or relax doing something you would like to if you have already been out). Doing this will train your mind into wanting to work. As well, cumulative rewards make you feel confident -- and that's the real cure for laziness. Some say you may also want to punish yourself for each step you fail to achieve, but this is ill-advised as it will only reinforce the negative behavior that ultimately leads to avoidance at the prospect of failure.

11. Continue working. It's hard to get on a roll, so once you're there, jump right onto your next goal as soon as you're done rewarding yourself. The longer you delay re-starting, the harder it will be to re-start. But the sooner you re-start, the more confident you will feel -- and that will reinforce the positive behavior that leads to feeling that you can do anything!

12. Don't give up. It's one thing to find your motivation. But, it's another thing to keep it going when the going gets tough -- especially when it's an unforeseen problem! The more avoidant you are, the more you will feel like giving up. How to get past the tough point? Tell yourself over and over: "I really want to get past this; I really want to overcome this", until you believe that you actually don't want to give up.

13. Stay off the couch until you are ready to take a break. And when you do sit, set a time when you will return to your task or to do other activities around the house: read a book, run a load of laundry, write to a friend, etc. The classic definition of self-discipline is doing what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not, and no matter how early your training begins this remains the most difficult lesson to master. Strike a healthy balance between being lenient and strict with yourself and remember that business takes priority over pleasure.

14. Set some long term goals. If you have goals set up for yourself, you have something to look forward to. Pick goals which are high and will really inspire you. Picture what you really want. Low goals will not really motivate you. Your goals can be to save to buy a home, that red sports car, or fulfill your lifelong dreams (maybe you've been wanting to open a bookstore, an arcade, or start your own publishing company). Make a to-do list, both of large and small things, and prioritize. It may also prove useful to keep a personal journal for each day of your target activities with a record of what exactly may have helped or hindered you with regard to reaching your target as part of your practical logistics for self-development.

15. Make that list of your desires, goals and motivations you want to move towards. Keeping them in mind will help you feel energized and willing to take any step needed to achieve them. Remember that better powers of concentration will expedite your journey to the completion of your tasks. Concentration by definition suggests that all of your attention is only available to and only directed towards the task at hand for a set duration of time to the absolute exclusion of all else. The drudgery of work will only last so long and then you can come up for air for a little while before submerging yourself in work once again. It is up to you to ensure that you move forward in accomplishment as time moves forward.

16. Create a vision board to post all your goals and dreams on. Be creative and use pictures, magazine articles, etc... to fully map out your dreams onto this board. Each day that you wake, look at your vision board and focus on where you want to be. This will provide an inspired start to your day, and push you to your dreams.


Edit Tips
- When contemplating whether or not you should do something, think to yourself "I'll do what I have to do, so I can do what I want to do."
- Use common sense and picture the demon and the angel on your shoulders. If you work at it using common sense, the angel will win and the demon will lose(always).
- If you do not work or need to leave your house first thing in the morning - set your alarm to wake up at a decent morning hour - say 7 am. Shower, get dressed and make yourself look presentable before leaving your room. Always dress as if you were planning to leave the house -- get out of the jammies before leaving the bedroom. Make your bed so it doesn't appeal to you later.
- Make sure you're on a healthy diet; junk food doesn't give your body the nutrients it needs to be active.
- Exercise. Go jogging through your neighborhood a few times a week, and in time you will see an improvement in the way that you feel and look. Working out will give you a lot of motivation and keep you from getting or feeling lazy. If you haven't worked out much before, stretch first, then start slow. If you don't, you will be in so much pain from sore or pulled muscles it will be easy to use it as an excuse to stop exercising.
- Make sure to drink a lot of water all day long, so you don't become dehydrated.
- Getting enough sleep each night can make you feel more awake. Depending on your activity and age, you may need up to 10 hours (teenagers) or as little as 5 (elderly).
- Avoid sugar and especially foods with "high fructose corn syrup" or "corn syrup" in the ingredients, as these can lead your body into metabolizing sugars instead of fats. Also, unnatural sugars (without fiber) may give you a short energy buzz, but then a blood sugar drop and you will feel fatigued and hungry.
- Consider getting rid of your television.
- Remember to do large and small things with love because if anything is worth doing then it is worth doing well but at the same time you should be able to discern when to leave well enough alone.
- Place copies of a goal sheet or your routine everywhere: one on the fridge, on your night stand, by your computer, on your bathroom mirror, even on the bedroom door. Just place them where you look or go to often.
- Doing meditation can help reduce laziness by improving your level of alertness, your awareness of the present moment as you pay attention to your breathing, posture and 5 senses, and your capacity to control and focus your thoughts, emotions and level of positive energy.

PRAYER
Thank You Lord today for Your Word. Thank You for speaking to me! Thank You God that there is so much wisdom to be found. Lead me in the right place towards You and You towards wisdom. Thank You God that You love me and care for me; and that You have the best for me in store. I appreciate You Lord and what You've done for me and continue to do every single day. May I bless You in everything I do. May this be a great year centered around You. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.