You’re Not Lazy, Bored, or Unmotivated

And the cure for what really ails you can be found in an advertising slogan you’ve heard before

Photo by Matt Wildbore on Unsplash

I don’t know you, but I know this: You have internet access, and enough time to spend some of it reading.

It sounds obvious, but this tells me two more important things about you: One, you’re in the top half of humanity’s wealth distribution, because the other half of the world’s population isn’t even online yet. And two, since you’re here, you’re likely fighting a very modern human fight. You’ve probably already got the basics covered — food, a roof over your head. For you, the obstacles to a better, happier life aren’t all concrete. You’re trying to defeat more abstract enemies: laziness, boredom, self-doubt, procrastination.

Here’s the thing: All these concepts are one and the same. And there’s only one way to deal with them.

You’re not lazy. You’re not bored. You’re not unmotivated. What you are — what all of us are — is afraid. And the best advice for overcoming fear is the bland three-word sentence Nike turned into the most successful marketing slogan of all time (after slightly tweaking a serial killer’s last words): Just do it.

You’re not unmotivated