# You Can’t Be Lazy. Laziness Does Not Exist. (Readwise) ## Metadata - Author: Audrey - Full Title: You Can’t Be Lazy. Laziness Does Not Exist. - Category: #source/articles - URL: https://fortitudeandflow.com/you-cant-be-lazy-laziness-does-not-exist/ ## Highlights - It’s a telling symptom to believe that we need to be in a state of exhaustion before taking a break is acceptable. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hcmhyxa9drf0gphyap1z6s)) - “Laziness has long been used to justify political, social, and economic order. It was constructed to wield dominance over marginalized folks and to perpetuate their oppression to maintain such an order. Ableism, racism, classism, and other -isms can intersect where this ‘lazy’ construct is used to subjugate the facets of various marginalized identities.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hcweg60y2ms6e6srnxyxtn)) - In other words, if you’re not producing and contributing to society in a very specific way that has been pre-determined by people in power, you’re lazy. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hcwmh7e81azns68t69v3kg)) - **Seeking Comfort:** Chödrön redefines laziness as either rushing from one thing to the other to seek comfort or the the typical manifestation of inaction. In either case she says, “we look for oblivion: a life that doesn’t hurt, a refuge from difficulty or self-doubt or edginess. We want a break from being ourselves, a break from the life that happens to be ours.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hd1b7y3g1bby4jt2wcbnke)) - **Loss of Heart:** Loss of heart is defined by not measuring up. She observes “We tried just being ourselves and we didn’t measure up. The way we are is not okay… We took time off, went on vacation, learned to meditate, studied spiritual teachings, or spent years dedicated to certain political or philosophical views… We don’t even want to move. We feel we could gladly sleep for a thousand years. Our life feels meaningless. Loss of heart is so painful that we become paralyzed.” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hd19h7mnfbwwwhe5hfn54t)) - **Couldn’t Care Less:** This is the cynic’s laziness. “We feel that we just don’t give a damn anymore. We feel lazy and mean at the same time. We feel mean toward this disappointing and lousy world, and toward this person and that person. Mostly we feel mean toward ourselves. We made a mistake. We’re not exactly sure what this mistake was, but we got it all wrong; and now, to hell with it!” ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hd17mb9g7pkprf3gmweab3)) - Rinse and repeat. You’re not lazy. You’ve got a real need that wants your attention. You’ve got this. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h3hd225syrz6h0fg6xd7kdm7))