Building Discipline with Laziness

We are flooded today with inspiration from social media celebrities and role models preaching the virtues of discipline. Just wake up earlier, take control of your morning, eat healthier, exercise every day, meditate, limit electronic consumption, be present with friends and family, read, journal, [insert endless list here], and life will be golden. All it takes is discipline, right?

While I agree with every generic suggestion above, the implementation is where we all trip up. It is a tall order to reprogram every facet of our minds to accomplish an overwhelming amount of tasks which we are not naturally inclined to follow. So we enter a downward spiral of disappointment at our apparent lack of discipline and wonder how everyone on Instagram does it. I propose that we fix that by changing the narrative.

Humans are lazy by default. Let’s use that to our advantage.

Rather than denying and fighting against our natural impulse to find the easiest and most efficient path to accomplishing our tasks, I would suggest that we embrace and reshape what it means to be lazy. Laziness can be a spark for innovation, and, ironically, a foundation to build discipline and new habits. Here are some personal examples:

• Discipline: I eat the exact same two meals every day.
  Laziness: I do not want to spend extraneous time and money shopping for a laundry list of grocery items; I do not want to burn mental energy thinking about what I am going to eat every day.
  Result: My diet is healthy, consistent, predictable, builds in intermittent fasting, and is automated. Since I buy only the items I eat, there is no extra food to tempt me in my house. And I am too lazy to go out of my way to find junk food!
• Discipline: I go to the gym and do strenuous physical activity every day.
  Laziness: I never want to go to a doctor. I do not want to get injured — it is a major annoyance to deal with. I do not want to feel sluggish and low energy all day.
  Result: To me, the simple act of spending one hour per day doing physical exercise prevents future inconvenience, complication, and unhappiness that would result from my body deteriorating. I save time and money on doctors, rehab, medicine — I am too lazy to deal with that!
• Discipline: I wear the same style of clothing every day.
  Laziness: The mental energy that goes into picking an outfit every day is overwhelming. I would rather have that choice pre-made for me (like my meals).
  Result: I spend less time and money on clothing. I own fewer types of clothes. Laundry ( and keeping track of my clothing) is far easier. I am too lazy to compete in the rat race of fashion!
• Discipline: I journal every day and write down important thoughts, feelings, accomplishments, and worries.
  Laziness: I am tired of carrying a jumble of unfiltered thoughts and emotions in my head. These thoughts snowball and becomes burdensome. Writing these down on a daily basis is like a mental cleanse and makes my day-to-day headspace much easier to manage.
  Result: I spent less time in my own head and more time present in the world around me. By transcribing my thoughts into words, I detach from emotions, can express myself more eloquently, and feel more lightweight. I am too lazy to be worried and preoccupied all the time!
• Discipline: I sleep on the floor (and practice extreme minimalism — all my life possessions fit into one bag).
  Laziness: I don’t like keeping track of too many items. I don’t like being tied down by objects I own. I don’t want to make a bed every day. I don’t want to deal with back pain. These are all motivations fuelled by laziness.
  Result: I naturally value experiences over material objects. I spend less money and time and attention on possessions. Physical minimalism leads to mental minimalism. Life becomes that much easier to navigate. I am too lazy to have more worries than I need!

Conclusion

Each of the examples above results in an executable, disciplined habit whose genesis is laziness. Instead of denying our humanity and imperfections, I advocate for embracing our weaknesses and molding them into strengths. I fuel discipline with laziness by employing second-order thinking — a mental model used by Ray Dalio — where the long-term consequences of my near-term actions are more rewarding than any near-term effort required.

Put another way, I would prefer to be long-term lazy, which requires short-term habits. These habits save me vast amounts of future energy, time, money, and overall resources. Eating the same two healthy meals every day will save me from long term discomfort from a lifetime of poor eating. Exercising every day will save me from the doctor’s office and a lifetime of chronic pain and medication. Journaling every day will save me from compounding mental and emotional clutter that leads to a lifetime of mental fogginess. All these actions make my life much easier, more straightforward, and less work to maintain.

I am not anti-discipline. I am not anti-habits. I am simply against denying the human condition and pretending that we are robots that need to be perpetually motivated for perfection. Let’s focus instead on upgrading our laziness — turning it into a tool that will naturally motivate consistent habits. These habits will lead to a higher quality, more enjoyable life with less stress, fewer burdens, and less work. Isn’t that the point of being lazy?