Fear Disguised As Laziness
Do you recognize it? Part of you really wants to meet up with your friends or go to that course you so enthusiastically signed up for, but when the time comes, or maybe a few days before, the laziness rears its ugly head. But what if it isn’t really laziness? What if it’s fear? Anxiety disguised as laziness?
Many of our emotions hide behind each other and confuse us. It’s like they disguise themselves to avoid seeing them and lose ourselves in an emotional maze. If we discover them and get lost in the maze, it is because we do not know ourselves. We still have a long way to go to emotional maturity.
Why do we feel lazy?
Laziness is simply a way of protecting ourselves and avoiding what we don’t want to do. When that day when we have to meet up with our friends arrives, or that course we signed up for begins, we become listless. Our minds grind until we come to the conclusion that we said yes to something we didn’t really want to do.
However, you have to be very careful with situations like this. If your first thoughts about what you decided to do were positive, but then laziness changed that, it’s not that you don’t want to do it. No, you’re running away from something. Do you feel comfortable with your friends? Did something happen between you? Are you afraid of speaking in public or meeting new people?
A sign of danger
The fear that masquerades as laziness warns us of potential danger. It reminds us of something we don’t want to see. Something we didn’t pay much attention to until the situation was about to become a reality.
When the moment comes, an alarm goes off in our minds. And what is the best resource we have for not having to face something that scares us and wants us to step out of our comfort zone? You guessed it, laziness.
Laziness can be a major pitfall when trying to hide a certain fear. When you say things like, “I really don’t feel like it,” “I need to learn to say no,” or “I need to be more assertive,” you may be hiding something that scares you.
Laziness thus becomes a lifesaver. It is a defensive response to hide our fears. But we shouldn’t fall for it. We shouldn’t think we have to be more assertive and say ‘no’ when in fact there is something we just don’t want to deal with. Deep within us there is a fear that uses laziness as an excuse to keep us safe at home.
Exposing the fear that disguises itself as laziness
Fear comes in many forms, and some of these are very subtle. However, if we learn to identify and manage our emotions, we can remove the disguises. Let’s see what we can do about it.
Imagine that you’ve had failed relationships that ended really, really badly, leaving you almost traumatized. You are now alone and trying to face your loneliness. Your friends still want to date you, but they also want to bring their partners. When the time comes to go out with them, you don’t feel like it at all and laziness sets in. You prefer to stay at home.
Maybe you think you really don’t feel like meeting them. But maybe that’s not the case at all. For example, maybe it hurts you to be confronted with the happiness of your friends, when you only experience unhappiness yourself.
Isolation to avoid suffering
You do enjoy the company of your friends, but you have fallen victim to your fear. It is the fruit of experiences you have not yet learned from. What this fear tells you is that you will make the same mistakes again. And so you isolate yourself so that you don’t have to feel those unpleasant feelings again.
Fear disguised as laziness is intended as protection. However, it stops you from growing. What should you do now? A good first step is to understand your emotions. Be prepared to ask for help with this.
You have to get rid of the fear. If you continue to give it its way, it will always limit your life simply because it is completely incompatible with well-being and happiness.
