Can A Lazy Person Succeed In Life?
It is not wrong to conclude that some of the traits successful people possess are hard work and diligence, two qualities it is widely believed lazy people do not have. This begs the question, can a lazy person succeed in life?
If you’re wondering if a lazy person can be successful in life, the truth is that they can but that does not mean they will. While genius scientists like Thomas Edison and Charles Darwin, thought to be lazy people, were some of the most successful people in the world, there are many examples of lazy people who did not become successful.
There are however some qualities, believe it or not, that mark a lazy person for success. There are also steps that lazy people can take to ensure they succeed. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is A Lazy Person Like?
A lazy person is essentially someone who spends their time doing anything but work. They are known to while away time sleeping, daydreaming, or gallivanting when they should otherwise be engaged in some worthwhile task.
A lazy person is often labeled so by people around him or her who have observed and made such conclusions based on their attitude, especially towards their job or a task at hand.
Naturally, a lazy person hates work and does everything possible to avoid said work. He or she may be heard complaining about the difficulty of the task or how unsuitable it is for them, citing a particular deficiency they have which they think makes them less capable of doing the work.
For instance, a lazy person may claim to be too skinny to lift a load or too tired to complete an assignment that is due the next day. If they must do a particular task, they would likely find an easier way of actualizing it.
Lazy people often take a laid-back approach to work. They may, for example, entice a more capable person to do the work for them. Such a person may even devote some time to think and strategize on how to get the job done without exerting much physical energy. This is why many of them are very innovative.
Lazy people have a preference for play or fun as against work irrespective of time or propriety. They may show little to no interest in work-related issues. They can however be very creative and resourceful when it concerns something they are interested in.
What Makes A Person Lazy?
The unwillingness or reluctance to do work is, in essence, what makes a person lazy. To fully understand what makes a person lazy or the characteristics and qualities of a lazy person, it is important to first analyze the term ‘lazy’.
Laziness can be seen as disinclination or hesitation to engage in any activity that could physically, mentally, or otherwise, exert oneself. It may come in form of outright refusal to do work or a preference for an easy and simpler task rather than hard and complicated work.
It could also be applied to someone who would rather do something else other than the task required of them or someone who procrastinates.
A person is said to be lazy when they fail to participate in important, usually taxing, work. Laziness in students may show in their inability to turn in an assignment as at when due. It could also be reflected in their poor class attendance and low grades.
Mind you, their failure in these aspects can often be traced to their reluctance to study or do school work, not an inability to assimilate the study materials.
Laziness in office workers occurs in several different forms. Lazy workers may constantly miss deadlines, lag behind others in the series of tasks to be done, complain regularly about one thing or the other, and have issues with punctuality and absenteeism. They are often seen whiling away time and lazing about in the workplace.
It is also important to note that while a person might exhibit strong attributes of laziness in the workplace or school, they could be very industrious in other aspects of their lives. This is because laziness is often a reaction to show disinterest and indifference. This is of course not always the case.
Are There Successful People Who Are Known for Being Lazy?
The answer is yes; some successful people are known for being lazy. Like I pointed out earlier, there are many people who are considered to be very illustrious in fields like science, innovative technology, and politics that were described as being lazy. Some of the more prominent ones include:
1. Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison, born in 1847, was considered to be a very lazy student. He did so badly in school from an early age that he had to be home-schooled by his mother who was a formally trained school teacher.
Edison, however, grew up to become an industrious inventor whose inventions include the automatic telegraph, the carbon telephone transmitter, the light bulb, the movie camera viewer, and the alkaline storage battery.
He was quoted as saying “If I were a school teacher, I would put lazy pupils to studying bees and ants. They would soon learn to be diligent” and “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
2. Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin, the English naturalist, is famously known to have been a lazy young man and a slow learner in school. His teachers were said to have struggled a lot to get him to learn Grammar and Mathematics.
At 16, he was pulled from school by his father because of his poor grade. Darwin found lectures in school to be dull and boring. Against the wishes of his father, Darwin dropped out of medical school two years after he had been enrolled by his father and returned home.
He again failed to please his father when he spent more time collecting beetles than studying to be clergy. He eventually found an interest in geology and natural history where he made great contributions to the science of evolution.
3. Albert Einstein
According to some accounts, German physicist Albert Einstein was regarded by some of his professors in school as a lazy student who would likely end up with an average career in physics. This was however due to Einstein’s lack of interest and preoccupation with other things.
4. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, who was one of the founding fathers and great inventors of America, believed himself to be “the laziest man in the world”
He joked that he had invented all the things he did to save himself from toil. His inventions include the lightning rod, the bifocals, the glass harmonica, the Franklin stove, and the electrostatic machine.
5. Winston Churchill
Former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill spent most of his time in bed despite achieving so much while he was Prime Minister. Churchill did not awake until 7:30 a.m. and usually got out of bed at 11 a.m.
Although he seemed to have spent very little time doing some work, he was always able to use those few hours optimally. Churchill was more focused on leisure and family but is still remembered as one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers to date.
6. Karl Marx
Some accounts describe Karl Marx as “generally a lazy and good-for-nothing student.” He spent the money that his father sent to him for tuition on food and drinks and was often seen whiling away at coffee houses and getting drunk at taverns.
When he left the care of his poor parents, Karl Marx lived off his dear friend, Friedrich Engels. Other successful people who were lazy include the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso and Russian chemist, Dmitri Mendeleev.
Can A Lazy Person Be Successful?
A lazy person can be successful. This is in part due to their unwillingness to do any hard or complicated work.
There are some attributes which many lazy people share that make it likely for such people to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose to do. Here are some reasons why lazy people can become very successful:
1. They Tend To Be Innovative
Granted that they do not want to do any hard work, lazy people often think of ways to make things simpler and less complicated. They are often very creative and are always thinking of how to optimize and automate the daily tasks they have to do.
In their quest to lessen the work, they often end up creating useful inventions. Bill Gates is quoted as saying “I will always choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
2. They Are Enterprising
Lazy people often possess entrepreneurial skills. They are full of good and creative ideas which they spend their time brooding over. Since they hate boredom and anything that is a drag, they often come up with lively and interesting projects that will be of benefit to everyone.
They may also employ unconventional methods of doing things that could further simplify and quicken the work.
3. They Are Often Very Clever
Lazy people often have to be very clever to survive in this world. They can compartmentalize and find ways to get time off even as they meet up deadlines. Such a person can be very valuable, not to mention efficient, in their place of work.
4. They Know When To Kick Back And Chill
Ever looking for a respite from work, lazy people do not fall into the trap of overworking themselves.
They are less likely to do more than they can handle or get themselves into a frenetic state. As such, they often lead very long and healthy lives.
5. They Are More Laid Back
Lazy people do not rush through their work and are often queried for being sluggish. Taking the time to do the work however means that they are very meticulous, always calm and collected, and less likely to make costly mistakes. They hardly have any responsibilities to worry about and so get less distracted.
6. They Keep Their Goals And Objectives In Sight
Lazy people tend to focus on their goals and never stray from their objectives. They make priorities and function based on these.
Since their ultimate desire is to have time to themselves, they devise ways of spending less time on the work to be done.
Is It OK To Be Lazy?
Much as I have highlighted the advantageous qualities of lazy people, it is very important that I state, plain and simple, that it is not okay to be lazy. Here are some reasons why it is not okay to be lazy:
1. Lazy People Hardly Get Things Done
In most cases, lazy people end up not doing the things they are supposed to. Some have a habit of procrastinating; pushing the work to a later time. In all honesty, it is the ones who despite their proclivities strive to do some work that turns out successful.
2. Illegitimate or Underhanded Shortcuts
Yes, a lazy person might come up with a genius shortcut that will greatly optimize certain tasks to the benefit of all but more often than not, the shortcut they find is illegal and underhanded and usually lands them in serious trouble with the law and other authorities. Cheating in an examination, for example, is a dishonest shortcut.
It is however also unwise to be extremely hardworking, especially when the efforts one puts into the job do not yield an equal result or when one’s health or lifestyle is being affected by it. The best approach is to strike a balance between being extremely hardworking and extremely lazy.
How To Be Successful If You Are Lazy
So you are a lazy person, do not despair – it is all about discipline. There are some guidelines that when followed can lead you to success. They include:
1. Do Not Procrastinate
Make it a habit to do things when they should be done. Do not postpone the execution of a task simply because you do not feel up to it. Always remember that many things in life are time-sensitive and the quicker you get at it, the better for you.
If you are a chronic procrastinator and want to eliminate this limiting habit, I have outlined 10 effective strategies/tactics that will enable you to get from point A to point B without losing focus, excitement, or drive and crush your big dreams, desires, and goals.
2. Stay Focused
You are a very creative person; use that to your advantage. Since you have an aversion to cumbersome work, set your priorities and work out a timetable based on that. Stay on course no matter what and you are sure to complete your tasks, whatever they may be.
3. Have A Standard
As a lazy person who wants to be successful, you must try to do your very best at whatever you put your hands to. Do not relent even when the task seems insurmountable. Have a mindset that you are only capable of giving the best standard there is.
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