You know that person that's never tried anything different? Me too.
Sloth happens to be one of the seven deadliest sins.
It means laziness. Sloths are not the most active creatures. They move at a snail’s pace and can often be seen lying around motionless in a tree.
There are people out there who resemble the sloth closely. They do the bare minimal to survive in life and nothing more. They are the stereotypical clock in and clock out employee.
They are like Stanley Hudson from The Office. They come into work and slack off, constantly checking the clock. The “Stanleys” try not to get up from their office chairs and take frequent bathroom breaks.
Stanleys are like the sloth in all areas of life. When they get home, nothing changes. They slide down on the couch and turn on Netflix. I always picture them grabbing a big bag of Cheetos too.
We all know a person like this. You run into them for the first time in years and they are doing the exact same thing. You ask them what they are working on or what’s new and they don’t have an answer.
This is not a knock on these kinds of people. After all, everyone can’t be go getters and enjoy success. My brother is one of these kinds of people.
That’s his choice.
He refuses to look for better jobs. He doesn’t try to start a business, go to college, a trade school, or do anything else to improve his life. He is content with working at a factory and clocking out at the end of the day.
And this is okay. I am not trying to bash him on the internet. I still love him and always will.
He has been this way his whole life. I am not like this at all. I’m not trying to make myself sound great, but we have never been on the same wave length. I like to try new things and get outside my comfort zone.
I do things like this experiment. It’s still going well. Hopefully I didn’t curse myself by saying that.
I have been trying to figure out why my brother doesn't try to improve himself. With so much accessible information today, there is no reason for negligence.
It wouldn’t be right to say he doesn’t know how to get better. You can’t say he doesn’t know how to take the first step or where to begin. We all know how to improve ourselves. It’s a decision some make and some don’t.
One of the reasons why he doesn't try to improve is because he has no confidence in himself. I have heard him say on more than one occasion that he can’t do something or that he is not good enough to do it.
He has never ending reasons as to why something won’t work. It could be anything.
You could tell him that you are planning on going for a walk later, and he will say that it’s going to rain and the ground won’t be stable enough and you might get struck by lighting.
This is an exaggeration, but it also isn’t.
We all need belief in order to do anything. When we get in the car to drive to work, we believe that we will make it there safely. We believe that we are competent enough to drive without getting into a head on collision.
It’s belief that allows us to do anything.
A lot of people don’t have belief in themselves and it comes at a cost. Like my brother, they know why your plans will fail. Like my high school senior quote said, confidence is key.
Another reason is fear. It ties into the last point, but it’s different. He fears trying anything new. He likes to be in a routine and hates change of any kind.
Change is scary. Humans love things to be predicable. That is why we try to predict almost everything from the weather to which stocks will make us millionaires.
But change can be a good thing. Even if the change you wanted doesn’t work, you can still learn something from it. All experiences in life are positive if you have the right mindset about them.
I recommend reading “The Obstacle is The Way” by Ryan Holiday if you haven’t already. It is all about stoicism and how to think positive in any situation.
When we try something different and succeed, we are glad we tried in the first place. If we don’t succeed, we usually learn something form the experience and take that with us.
Don’t be afraid of change. Change is a good thing.
It is said in the book mentioned above that what you think is what you become. That is why people who are negative all their life don’t change. They have so much “practice” of the bad that they don’t know anything else.
It takes a lot of time and energy to break the cycle and start to see all the good in the world. it is a skill that is difficult to master.
I have heard people say that it is difficult to think positive or have confidence in yourself when you haven’t done anything to be proud of. I understand why they think this.
If you have nothing to show, why would you believe you can do something? Let’s stick with the driving the car scenario earlier.
When we are first starting to drive, we are afraid and not skilled. We make mistakes and get beeped out more than once. Since we have never driven before, we don’t believe it is something we can do or are good at.
What helps when you have never done something before is to take small steps and practice often. They don’t even have to be related. For example, making your bed every morning can help you drive a car when first starting out.
Making your bed every morning allows you to start the day off productive. It allows you to start the day off with an accomplishment. You start the day in a positive mindset that carries on throughout the day.
Making your bed in the morning gives you confidence for other tasks. Because you have established your belief in yourself and are in a positive mindset, it is easier to try new things with the belief that you can succeed.
Don’t be a sloth or a Stanley Hudson. Try new things. Don’t be afraid. Make your bed every morning.
It can only lead to good things.
