In an overstimulated world, laziness should be celebrated…and practiced.

(相关资料图)

Fast Company

By Svetlin Todorov

JULY 27, 2023 | 629 words |★★☆☆☆

Since the dawn of time, human civilization has sought to conserve energy for the things that really matter—like hunting, fending off predators, or finding shelter. Thousands of years ago, a typical day involved long periods of rest and inactivity followed by immediate and urgent action to ensure that the necessities of life were taken care of.

Today, our lives (and families, bosses, and phones) require immediate and urgent action nearly every minute. We have access to everything all the time—and everything has access to us all the time. I don’t need to explain that this is exhausting, or that we have conditioned ourselves to believe that it’s normal.

The truth is, it’s not. The burnout so many of us experience today is the result of chronic overstimulation and stress, an expenditure of energy that is both constant and unsustainable. As humans, we are designed to have periods of rest, so that we have the energy to respond and react when it really matters. While times have changed, the principles of saving energy remain the same.

And yet we are faced with the reality that we live in a modern world. No one is throwing out their smartphones (yet). Ignoring your boss’s email may, in fact, have negative consequences. And the ability to FaceTime with grandparents across the county is a beautiful development of this new world we live in.

An odetolaziness

So, we know we need rest, and we also know we have to live in a modern, digital world. The self-care movement in the past few years would have us believe that a bath or a meditation session will help us strike a balance here, but these are often just more items on the to-do list. How do we ensure we have what we need as humans and avoid the overstimulation and burnout that is rapidly becoming the defining characteristic of American society?

The answer is a mindset shift that is antithetical and joyfully contrarian to our current ethos.

It is time to embrace laziness.

Not self-care as simply another item on the to do list. Not another distraction that briefly and selectively numbs us from the constant stressors of daily life.

We need to actually pursue laziness, and reclaim the time that our ancestors had between hunting and gathering. (Because they certainly weren’t seeking dopamine hits on Instagram.) I’d argue that at this stage in modern life, we have to be exactly this direct and blunt with ourselves and each other, and ask ourselves: How can we be lazy?

How to be lazy

Any creative person will tell you that their best ideas come in the shower, exactly when they are not thinking about work. Any parent will tell you that the most beautiful, connected moments with their children are unscripted and uninterrupted. Creativity, connection, and play are born out of one thing: space. Today, the only way to create that space is to be intentionally lazy.

It’s time to take the tools of our modern, digital world and use them in pursuit of that aim. Automate the tasks that are time-wasters. Put the phone down whenever you can. Go for a slow, ambling walk with no destination in mind. Sit on the couch. Reject the relentless to-dos. Don’t just “take a break.” Actively try to be lazy.

I think you’ll find that the creativity, space and opportunities that arise as a result will surprise you. And when you return to your life to hunt, gather, and provide—you’ll be better at it. More focused. More intentional. More present.

It’s time to truly flip the script in a world that tells us that productivity is and should be our highest value and anything other than that is bad. To that, I say no.

Lazy is good.■

Svetlin Todorov is CEO of Shelly USA

新英文·外刊精读营，暑期优惠活动，扫码报名

——新英文外刊，全网最大的外刊泛读平台，每日精选优质外刊泛读文章，文章质优、话题丰富、时效最新，始于2016年3月。

新英文外刊

每日精选优质外刊文章

扫码关注我们

喜欢今天的内容吗？喜欢就点个“赞”吧⇣⇣

关键词：