Lazy is better than stupid
You had to be lazy for you own good. It’s time to embrace it and move on.

In Italy we have this word, “secchione”. You call somebody a “secchione” when s/he’s a top student. Maybe s/he’s not a straight-A student, but close. And usually not fun at parties (but that’s not mandatory).
It can be a playful word, or hurtful.
You use it if you’re 11yo or so. And although most of the times you’re mocking somebody, sometimes the recipient is happy to hear it. And that was my case.
“You’re a secchione”
“Everything’s easy for you”
“You just read the book? Do you even study? Do you put any effort into it?”
I’ve been on the receiving end of these remarks for years at school. Secretly pleased by them actually. And here’s what happened:
- I convinced myself I was an intelligent kid
- I got addicted to outside validation
Fast forward to college
A tough class came by. I realized that this time I had to study — for real. Sweat on books, all nighters and all.
And I got scared.
What if I put all the effort I was capable of, and still fail?
I’d be a fraud, and I would be exposed. Everybody would see I wasn’t intelligent. I’d be ruined.
I was petrified. I didn’t want to even try. I thought it would’ve been better to say I didn’t have the time. Even better, go out at night, go to parties, get wasted.
Let the others think I’m some kind of dissolute genius. A wasted potential. That would be better than they thinking I wasn’t up to it.

Lazy is better than stupid
I’ve always been lazy. I hate being lazy, but I can’t help it. Why wouldn’t I stop?
So that’s what I realized. I was lazy not to be stupid.
No reason to be mad at me. I’m just defending myself.
Being lazy is a defense tactic
There’s always something we think we should do: a new opportunity at work, an important change, a new healthy habit.
Maybe we’re tired of our situation, we feel the need to put ourselves out there, take chances, take a risk to change our life.
But moving from zero to one is the hardest thing to do.
There’s always a good excuse not to.
This was mine.
So here’s what I learned
- Sometimes you’re lazy to protect yourself. Stop beating yourself up if you procrastinate, and try to understand the real reason behind it.
- From acceptance comes change. Once laziness is not the evil, you break the loop. One step at a time.
- Outside validation feeds the loop: everybody thinks that lazy is bad. You think lazy is bad because you want to feel normal. You keep being lazy just to feel normal when you complain about it. So choose yourself and break this cycle, because that’s the wrong answer for the right question.
There’s a really good little book about laziness: “La pigrizia, come liberarsene” (Laziness, how to get rid of it, by Marco Vinicio Masoni). Don’t know it it’s ever been translated. It’s effective. Most of what I learned stems from this book. It’s just 5$. If you can read Italian, I highly recommend it.
