Don’t Let This One Word Hold You Back in 2019
I was training a long-term client — let’s call her Susan — and asked about her week. “Well, I didn’t make it into the gym at all,” she said, looking guilty. “I was lazy.”
Lazy. Adjective: “An unwillingness to work, showing a lack of care or effort.” I hear this word a lot in the fitness industry but this time, felt curious. I decided to re-examine this word. After some studying, I now have a huge beef with it. In fact, after reading this, I hope you’ll join me in a petition to remove “lazy” from our vocabulary entirely: Dear Merriam-Webster, shove it. Yours truly, People With Self-Esteem.
To begin with, the word has an ugly past. It’s been used in association with racist, bigoted and colonial ideas, which is still happening. Earlier this year, RCMP officers were calling Indigenous people “lazy, racist, stupid and spoiled” in a private Facebook group. Laziness has become an inferior and immoral thing as our culture developed into one that values busyness and efficiency over moderation and balance. It’s not any sort of accurate description but rather a tool for harm. If I called Susan lazy for skipping her workouts that week, I’m saying that she is somehow defective or morally bad. That may be discouraging enough but she may also internalize and identify with being lazy. And, when we identify with something, we tend to reinforce it in our…