Why being lazy can actually help your create your dream life

MindsetWork-life balance

Oct 4

Written By Heidi Hauer

HEIDI’S JOURNAL ENTRY | 027

WHY BEING LAZY CAN actually HELP your CREATE your DREAM LIFE

FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRAPPED IN CYCLES OF 'DOING' OR FIND IT HARD TO REST

By Heidi Hauer

Laziness is generally a pretty negatively charged word, and one that often creates quite a reaction within us. Consider how you responded to the title of this post. Curious? Dubious? A little (or a lot) annoyed?

The thought of being labelled lazy can bring up so much fear and judgement.

We may believe that being lazy would make us...

A bad person.
A failure.
A loser.
Selfish.
Unambitious.
Incompetent.

… and and no doubt many other negative things!

But when turning to the dictionary, you may be surprised to realise that what it really means is far less fatalistic.

To be 'lazy' actually means to be…

unwilling to work or use energy.
not energetic or vigorous.
moving slowly.
not rigorous or strict.

Reflection

I don’t know about you, but the true definition of laziness seems suspiciously similar to how we might describe self-care, honouring our body, rest, rejuvenation, intention, and dare I say it... feminised energy.

This is a humbling realisation that shines a spotlight on how words like this get negatively contextualised within cultures that praise constant productivity, achievement and more masculine ways of creating and being in the world.

So today I’d like to challenge you to get a little lazy! And before you think I’m telling you to dash your goals, give up on yourself and be a passive observer of your life, take a breath and remember the true definitions above. Then consider the following...

Who could you be and what joy / health / power would become available to you if you were to:

Become unwilling to overwork or override your body’s need for rest?
Prioritise peace and calm as you move through your day?
Approach things slowly and intentionally?
Create alignment with your needs and goals?
Treat yourself and body with kindness?
Stop punishing yourself for not being 'perfect'?

No matter how much our brain will try to tell us otherwise, we can’t create our dream life when we’re consistently hustling, overworking and pushing forward to no end.

If you want to achieve success on your own terms, actually enjoy your life and arrive at a destination you truly want, we must carve out time for laziness!

It’s in these gentle spaces that stress melts away, clarity comes forward and our intuition is able to tell us what we want, what’s not working and the steps we need to take to feel healthy, happy and deeply fulfilled in every area of our life.

This post was inspired by a talk on Clubhouse which I hosted together with career coach Sabina Haas and psychologist Doris Maybach. You can join us every second Wednesday at 08:00 am Zurich time in our club 'Gutes Leben und Arbeiten'.

JOURNAL

You can embody your soul’s purpose in your corporate job

‘Soul’ isn’t really a word or concept that gets spoken about a lot in the corporate world. And I understand why! Whether we like it or not, business is about, well… the business.

How to switch off from work and enjoy the life you’re creating

While I champion a balanced lifestyle, I am equally passionate about translating wellbeing aspirations into practical, achievable choices that seamlessly fit into a demanding schedule.

How to deal with a narcissistic boss

While the term ‘narcissist’ has quickly woven itself into the language of popular culture, knowing how to deal with this antagonist personality can still hold a lot of confusion and misinformation.

How to get more from your limited time

What does the concept of time bring up for you? Do you lean towards feelings of joy connected to how you currently spend it, or feelings of anxiety regarding all the ways you believe you’re not using it ‘well’?

Why being lazy can actually help your create your dream life

Laziness is generally a pretty negatively charged word, and one that often creates quite a reaction within us. Consider how you responded to the title of this post. Curious? Dubious? A little (or a lot) annoyed?

How to ensure you age well – 5 powerful things to implement right now

What’s your relationship to getting older? This can be an uncomfortable reflection for many of us, and one that unravels so many other topics such as our relationship with time, our purpose and potential, beauty, death, productivity, physical health and so much more.

Why is forgiveness so hard? (and do I really need to do it?)

If you’ve been moving down the personal development path, you have probably come across teachings that promote forgiveness as a powerful tool for healing and stepping into our full potential.

How to make good decisions that you don’t later regret

While freedom of choice is something so many of us desire and rightly fight for, decision making, or more specifically, feeling confident that we’re making the right choice, can be a real struggle.

When to quit or stay? An expert helps you find out and gain clarity

"I’m in it to win it."
"You snooze, you lose."
"No pain, no gain."

These are common sentiments that get thrown around all the time, whether we are consciously aware of them or not.

3 powerful ways to improve your self-discipline (and thrive)

Recently, I reconnected with a fascinating woman who I hadn’t spoken to in years. With great interest, I listened to stories about her family life with three kids, a husband, a career that she loves alongside the several passion projects she has ‘on the side’.

How to find joy in everyday life and experience bliss

Often, the idea of just being or relaxing is something that will only be considered once we’ve achieved a challenging goal or maybe completed our life’s work.

How to be calm in the midst of chaos: 3 helpful practices

If the last few years has show us anything, it's that we can't control the external world. But it's also reminded us that we each have the power within us to deeply impact in a positive way how we and those around us are able to move through life's challenges and transitions.

7 working from home tips to support your health and happiness

Since COVID, working from home has become a regular occurrence for many of us. Even with offices back open, flexible and home-working seems to be something that is sticking around – potentially for good! This is preferable for many people, but I also know that sticking to routines and wellbeing practices when working from home can bring up a new kind of struggle. Here are 7 tips to help you...

10 ways to radically improve your work-life balance

In my role as a coach, I work with career-focused high achievers who want and need to find a less stressful, healthier and more fulfilling way to reach success in and outside of work.

What to do after achieving your goal?

As soon as we enter school, our lives are marked out by beginnings and endings, exams and grades, and the expectation of performance gets in the way of living in the moment.

How to set and achieve ambitious goals

What makes a great goal? This might seem a little bit obvious, but if coaching has taught me anything it’s this: not all goals are created equal. When it comes to setting and successfully achieving goals, there’s much more to it than simply picking something we want to do and feeling motivated. We have to go a little deeper.

How to make the journey towards reaching your goals a blissful one

In this blog post, I want to move from the topic of what you desire to how to get what you desire. John Lennon famously wrote the lyric, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." This poignantly speaks to the reality that the majority of our lives consists of the 99% of experiences that happen between the big achievements we work toward.

What's success? Brilliant tips to find your definition of success

What does it mean to be successful? With mainstream ways of working increasingly under scrutiny, ‘define your own success’ is fast becoming the mantra of career liberation.

8 valuable reasons to stop being a perfectionist for good

The Oxford dictionary defines perfectionism as “the refusal to accept any standard short of perfection.” I have to say, I feel kind of stressed just reading this description! As a recovering perfectionist, I remember this mindset more than I’d like to admit.

Why you should choose a word of the year

At the end of the year, I often get asked what I think about New Year's Resolutions. People want to know what the best way is to set goals and whether I know a secret to actually sticking to them.

How to gain powerful insights on your relationship with food

Whenever “getting healthy” is mentioned, our mind conjures up images of salads, plates full of vegetables, gym gear, and all your other motifs for “health.” We see achieving optimal health as a distinct endeavour that we choose to pursue or neglect. Rarely do we fully consider our health and well-being as factors that are inherently woven into everything we do.

The surprising blessing and curse of wanting it all (now!)

Enjoying the privilege of sharing a dinner table with talented, successful and beautiful women quickly helped me witness a fascinating desire many of us have: wanting it all… at the same time... and right here and now.

Create a new habit (and overcome setbacks) in 9 easy steps

We all have things in our life that we want to change. And guess what? We all struggle to do it! Facing challenges, resistance and setbacks when forming new habits is a normal, albeit frustrating, part of the experience.

Seven ways to overcome workaholism

Workaholism isn’t only connected to the actions that we take, but also the way that we think about, and attach meaning to, our work and careers.

How to practice mindfulness at work

You couldn’t be blamed for thinking that a mindfulness practice is something that only really happens in the yoga studio, at wellbeing retreats or as part of a 5am morning routine before the daily chaos takes over.

Heidi Hauer

Why being lazy can actually help your create your dream life

WHY BEING LAZY CAN actually HELP your CREATE your DREAM LIFE

Laziness is generally a pretty negatively charged word, and one that often creates quite a reaction within us. Consider how you responded to the title of this post. Curious? Dubious? A little (or a lot) annoyed?

Who could you be and what joy / health / power would become available to you if you were to:

RELATED Posts

Heidi Hauer is an executive coach, advisor, and host of her podcast ‘Intuitive Leadership for Impact’. She works with clients in Zurich, Vienna, and online.