In Defense of Laziness
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2023
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Why Laziness is the Greatest American Sin
Laziness, or sloth, persists as a society’s most egregious deadly sin. And yet, some modern philosophers and thinkers argue that laziness doesn’t even exist. Is laziness the monster under the #grindset bed? Let’s find out in this Wisecrack Edition: Does Laziness Exist?
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=== Watch More Episodes! ===
How Work Controls You ► • How Work Controls You
We're All Babies Now ► • We're All Babies Now
Is Therapy Speak...Gaslighting Us? ► • Is Therapy Speak...Gas...
Written by Rachel Van Nes
Hosted by Helen Floersh
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Edited by Andrew Nishimura
Produced by Olivia Redden
Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound
#laziness #productivity #wisecrack
© 2023 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming
America has made existing a crime, outside of public parks you're not allowed to stand and hangout or you're "loitering" so we all stay at home separated from the people around us in suburbs and condemn laziness (existing without making someone money) culturally, being a real human in America is rough
The duality of Fascists, where their enemy is simultaneously strong and weak, does it all no favors.
You know, how those "lazy Mexicans" are coming here to both take welfare AND "steal your job."
That's why I love libraries. So often bored with nowhere to go, so I end up walking to the library. One of the few places left where you can exist without the expectation of spending money.
Of course, the GOP's crusade against libraries is no accident, and it goes beyond censorship. Places like parks and libraries would never be allowed to exist these days if they hadn't already been created.
Your therapist will tell you to go distract yourself by taking a walk, treating you like a small dog with excess energy rather than someone continually demeaned by a dying empire with a broken culture giving rise to corporate-sponsored fascism.
@weregretohio a walk aint half bad either though.
Loitering has been a law in the UK, Australia(failure to obey a police request to stop loitering, can result in a max fine of $1250 and 3 months jail), in India it’s a law meant to keep women from offending public decency(likely anti-prostitution or the look of it), South Africa, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, etc.
Loitering can be traced to Elizabethan “Poor Laws.” In the 1600’s, workers in between jobs and the unemployed were roaming the villages and city streets. The crime rate went up, so the laws were made to combat it.
Not saying it’s a good thing, but stop blaming the U.S., or acting like it’s the only place such a thing exists.
Doesn't help matters being "human" if you are neurodivergent and people expect that same productivity level regardless of how much induced anxiety the medicine thrown at you causes. Of course, that, too, made worse by the fact that insurance only stubbornly covers part of it making nearly a third of your productive gains go right back into your medical care.
Hope I live to see a day where people who fall into this category can lead respected lives both supported and by supporting themselves without unrealistic expectations all over the place.
In Spanish speaking countries people say "laziness is the mother of all evil" but you can respond with "and like with every mother we must respect her".
I grew up listening to that saying, but had never seen the response nor had it occurred to me - loved it!
Ya me imagino lo que dice tu madre de usted
En mi vida he oido esa frase XD
@@dtavs_exe ¿Nunca has oido "la pereza es la madre de todos los vicios"?
@@Lambda_Ovine nop
My manager keeps telling me that work is just work. No one's irreplacable and outside of your contract you don't owe the company anything. He hates the glorification of work and says that if people are busy all the time, then they need better time management. I like him :)
A shockingly honest manager! We love it.
You call it "having better time management" I call it "being fortunate enough not to have ADHD." 😅
Mine only does back end stuff and only ever comes out to say hi. Everything is implied to be being done. Hell some of the people take naps in the break room. Does anyone care? fuck no. Everything gets done timely so they have the chance to do that
@@Rampala I have both. I always got to keep moving. I reject these "easy babysitting assignments" because i can't sit still for 12 hours stuck in some room. Everyone still loves me because I go out of my department during off times to give people some snacks and coffee
Sounds like you have a unicorn manager.
As a black guy from the hood, I feel like I’ve never been allowed to be lazy no matter how much I wanted to. There’s nothing for me to fall back on if I don’t make money and my parents don’t have much to leave me when they pass on, so if I’m lazy and want to just “exist” I’m gonna starve. Humans should be allowed to just exist and not have to monetize our existence fr
Do you have kids?
No. Now get back to work
You can’t expect other people to work hard feeding, housing, and clothing you while you “just exist.” It doesn’t work that way
Fuck the comments here man, you deserve to exist as a human being without your life being monetized. I wish you rest and peace in your life
@Dutchbrother07 Explain to me why though? Who decided that I HAVE to always be productive to justify my existence in the world? Seems like you have to justify your obsession with destroying leisurely activities. Make it make sense.
The concept of laziness has always struck me as kind of...circular reasoning?
"Being lazy means a person don't want to work/be productive/whatever."
"Sure...but WHY doesn't the person want to do those things?"
"Because they're lazy!"
I'm a psychologist, and a lot of my time spent talking to people is unpacking why they do or don't want to do certain things. What it usually comes down to is that the things they don't want to do (particularly with regards to work, and sometimes with certain attitudes towards exercise) are about attaining goals that aren't inherently meaningful to them, like making more money or having a certain kind of body. Meanwhile the things they do want to do (hobbies, relaxation, social media, playing video games) give them things that are inherently meaningful to them, like connecting with others, feeling rested, developing a skill, or feeling competent at something. From that perspective, it makes a ton of sense they don't want to do all those things that feel meaningless. Maybe we should be spending more time talking about why we're expected to do so many things that don't actually feel meaningful or rewarding to us.
This speaks to me so much, thankyou, I've always felt similar to this but never been able to put into words, I don't understand why "I don't want my life to be harder than necessary" seems to make me a terrible person in people's eyes, when I'm hurting nobody.
The story of my life, where almost everyone always tells me on how I’m wasting my talents not doing side business or as a software developer, creating the new startup sensation…
So much this. Thank you. 💜💜💜
Yup anyone who takes psychology seriously sees through the "laziness" bullshit. And yes we should spend more time talking about how f'd up it is. It's actually at the core of the American pathology.
@@TheScholesie09 I was just thinking, "I want to raise my son to understand the difference between unnecessary labor and labor." Labor, when necessary, is can be tedious or fun, depending on how one looks at it. Unnecessary labor is something we should all revile.
“If necessity is the mother of invention, laziness is the father."
noice! is that said in the video? too lazy to watch it
Nothing we have invented is necessary. It is ALL without exception due to inherent laziness. We can and do work very hard at being lazy. Without fundamental laziness, we would not have ANY inventions. Think about it - dishwashers were invented because someone didn’t want to wash dishes by hand. Elevators were invented because someone didn’t want to walk upstairs. Electricity was invented so someone didn’t have to light a lamp. Computers were invented because someone didn’t want to calculate by hand. Pencils were invented because someone didn’t want to have to concentrate on remembering everything. It is all about laziness and nothing else and thus laziness is the ultimate virtue.
@@drmadjdsadjadi I agree. I got creative by wondering, how can I make this easier. Now I consider myself being paid to walk in the park. Why? Because there I get creative ideas, and perspectives all those hard working people have no time to develop.
@@drmadjdsadjadi I have a good one, Cave people discovering Fire because they don't want to eat raw meat lol
@@AliFareedMC Yes, you are right! They were too lazy to endure food poisoning! 😂
This called to mind the Buddhist antidote to the panic-stricken: ''Don't just sit there - DO something!'' which runs ''Don't just do something, SIT there!'' Love this presentation.💐
pch: In Zen they talk about "effortless effort."
I went on a zen retriet once. I was totally exhausted by all the effort it took to do almost nothing.
i've always thought that there was a sense that other people feel like they own you and your time when they insist that you should be productive. There's an underlying sense that you owe everybody else for existence, so you don't really own yourself. Screw that.
Yep 👏🏾
Indeed, but when someone is being self-destructive then a person who cares about them will definitely intervene. For example if one's friend becomes so addicted to their phone that they are reluctant to do anything else.
You don’t owe anyone for your existence, but you owe a whole hell of a lot of people for the things that keep you alive
In my adult life I have learned that what people call "laziness" 90% of the time is actually emotional exhaustion from legitimate high stress in a person's life.
Edit: Oh yeah and insufficient diet/sleep leading to low energy is extremely common. A lot of folks eat the bare minimum every day and then wonder why they have no energy to do anything.
Yeah staying at home isnt healthy and it’s not something most people like. You don’t want to be lazy. Not even the capitalist way. Just human way. We are social animals. Laziness can also be caused by loneliness and mental health. I think that reason might be less recognised then it should.
Look what they feed us. Cheap, sugar filled shit with chemicals added
Me!
I've been burnt out by my life for over a decade and can't agree more. So often I want to pursue my hobbies and interests and just sleep, because I am so emotionally and mentally exhausted. It actually pisses me off. It's not like I actually want to sleep all day.
A lot of "laziness" is actually rooted in other emotions like loneliness, fear and grief. The constant needs to be "productive" has made emotional expressions not linked to working or consuming very difficult.
When I start to feel lazy and worthless as a result, I just look at my cats who are way lazier than me, but that doesn't reduce their value in any way. Therefore I can also be lazy and inherently valuable.
So glad Helen is back!!
Laziness is peak humanity!
@@AcidProphet She does? Woah, that's crazy, can we roll the footage?
@@bwackbeedows3629 its actually a serotnin molecule. Very cute 😊
Yeah, she's the better looking host, but there's something about baseball-cap guy's snark that i dig.
@Marshal Marrs that's like your opinion man
I was going to say, that lady looks like Helen from cheddar
It's not laziness. Everyone is too damn neurotic, always rushing with the inhumane march of the clock, too busy exploiting others and themselves, forced to become obsessed with hustling in unhealthy ways and all just to barely survive.
Speak for yourself. Some of us have a healthy work/life balance.
@@xczechr Keeping it real, respect.
@@xczechr obviously there are outliers
@@xczechr
A few questions for you?
Do you like your job? Your coworkers and Boss?
Thank you !! ❤
The concept of "laziness" can be ableist, too. People with depression, chronic illness/pain, invisible disabilities, anxiety, ADHD, autism, etc are frequently mislabeled as lazy, unmotivated, or "not trying" when they are just SICK. The mentally ill, neurotypical, and disabled are still expected to adhere to the "always be productive" trope even if it's harmful or impossible for us. And if we can't keep up, we're labelled "burdens". It's even harder for us to survive in this kind of society than the abled.
Idk about you, but I've learned that that "burden" label was something I did to myself. I heard all the condemnations from my own mind as if they were coming from the world. Of course, when they did come from outside, they were debilitating. If you're suffering from depression, you have my sympathy, it sucks so hard and it's so difficult to find someone to relate to, or even feel safe telling how you feel. I can tell you that finding work that doesn't compromise my principles has made a huge difference for me. I don't have the bad bad days anymore and if I feel like crying, I just do it. It never lasts long. Just know you can come out the other side, it's been done. I made it. I have pretty much lost my tolerance for the intolerant and impatient, however.
For all of my life I suffered with depression and chronic fatigue, And very bad chronic pain and I could not fathom how other people lived their life with so much energy. Then ended up to the psychiastrist Who put me on meds and I istantly became active. The only problem is the medicaments gives me awful nightmares and I can’t sleep. Still, I am dependent to them otherwise I couldn’t do anything productive . Sorry for typos eng is not my language
I used to be a work myself to burnout, fingers to the bone type person. Got a majority of my self worth out of it. But now long COVID and severe PTSD have caught up with me it's shocking to see how people treat me differently. I'm not their *friend* anymore, I'm a disabled. And I know this treatment because I spent years working as a DSP for adults with IDD.
I wish to numb it all honestly, I take meds for Adhd, Psoriasis, Depression, etc. But nothing seems to help, I feel like a broken toy who is just barely wobbling along. I've gone through therapy and while I am further along mentally than I was a few years ago I still feel stuck. I've been using Weed to cope but I don't like how I feel afterwards and there have been too many times where I've taken it too far.
YES
Love how everything always returns to "moderation is key"
because this is tautology, "the optimum amount is optimum"
It's funny how the people who already have money are never lazy, even when they aren't doing anything. And a person already working 3 jobs and not wanting a 4th IS lazy. And those of us who only have 1 job and are happy with that... endless cycle.
Helen, it's great to have you back. Your reading is quieter than your other speaking.
They "work hard" going to meetings or going golfing with their buddies
@@silverscalederg8632 exactly
And even those who do work hard, like Elon Musk, it's pathological. He has more money than his grandchildren could spend and he still works like 80 hour weeks. When are we going to pathologize *that* and stand in moral repugnance demanding the treatment of this madness.
@@unafides yeah, we are essentially modeling society on pathological behavior. Elon Musk is actually “lazy” in his social life.
Imagine people who inherit wealth and consider themselves “productive”, imagine all of the rationalizations they can come up with to motivate that. That is the kind of norms and even laws we are seeing today. Kings in antiquity at least cut it short and defaulted to “God said so”.
I revel in my laziness. It’s my therapy
I just quit a contract job that was killing me today. This is a perfectly timed video.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 now the true living can commence.
Hell yeah
The funniest thing is that people who usually are that hyper critical of your actions, usually are not consistently being productive or proactive. They just need to feel like they have to lecture you for whatever reason.
Lol, if you ever call them bums or bring up a salary difference between them and someone else, they get highly offended instead of just doing introspection. That comparison and competition nonsense with strangers is why a lot of people are highly stressed.
I feel more and more that we are living in a mix of Brave New World and Idiocracy
There is a phenomenon I was taught called the 42% Rule. It says that you should be resting about 42% of the time, on average, per day. That's roughly 10/24 hours. Or if we're talking full days, 3/7 days. Dividing up physical, mental, and social rest gets complicated, of course. But generally, the best ways to get adequate rest in all forms is getting good sleep, with the remaining time spent getting good exercise, eating healthy food, doing things you enjoy, and of course, ordinary rest and relaxation.
I'll assume that 42% rest is on top of my 80% sleep.
I do all my best resting at work. 😉👍
I go by the 90-10% rule. I spend 90% of the day resting, and 10% getting out of anything that would interrupt my rest.
So if you sleep 8 hours a day, that gives you 2 hours of rest in waking time?
I feel like this is treating people too much like an equation that can be solved. As though math can easily quantify how much a human being needs to rest. Every person is different and needs a different amount of rest depending on their individual health concerns.
I think often people do forget being lazy can be productive, taking a few hours to soak in a bath to your favorite jams can genuinely improve your life, let you reflect, and be more healthy. There are good ways to be lazy, and so often people forget that
Thanks for creating this when most people (students) are on summer break and feel completely useless, doing "nothing" for days at a time. In hindsight a brain torpor should be rewarding for those on break given the fact that they had to push their physical and mental state to the limit throughout the entire school year.
I pushed past those limits in high school, and the result was a two decade burnout. Going back to college soon. Therapy and rest were absolutely crucial to better mental health. Take care of yourself in your youth, and you'll be much better off as you age!
Speak for yourself. Two weeks’ strike and a shooting mean I’m not off for 3 more weeks.
Welcome back Helen! You're doing so great. It must have taken a lot of courage to tell us the things that you did about your own personal struggles. The writing and editing of the video seemed very compassionate and respectful towards you and to all the rest of us that are struggling a bit in life. It was kind of beautiful actually. To Helen and the whole team, from the bottom of my heart; Thank you.
It’s insane that hustle culture is so ingrained in my mind that I only have a moment of lucidity when I watch a video like this. Having said that, I drop my work at 5 and I’m very productive during the work day. I realized that checking my email all evening didn’t actually improve my productivity. After work, I’m a couch potato watching UA-cam.
Helen I’m so glad you are back!! I literally cry on Sundays because the anxiety of doing nothing is absolutely crushing.
What do you do to alleviate it? I've tried turning my hobbies into something to be proud of. I didn't do "nothing" yesterday, I read an entire chapter of a book!
My quality of live has definitely improved in Germany. 6 weeks of vacation. Reasonable working hours. Sunday just meeting with some friends at a bakery and chatting. WAY less stressful than my life in the USA.
Glad to see you back! But more happy to hear you are happier and healthier
BetterHelp has been hit with a class action lawsuit from the FTC for illegally sharing user data with platforms like facebook and have had complaints of low quality or sketchy therapists.
In Brazil is law that any worker has a right to 30 days off per year. We've had this since the 50's.
Like bread dough, you must rest before you can RISE.
You'll also need a starter.
“Men of lofty genius are most active when doing the least ‘work.’” -Da Vinci
I'm glad you mentioned the book Laziness Does Not Exist. I was listening to it and thought it had some pretty interesting things to say (until my loan expired on libby). I remember being really surprised to see all the negative reviews on goodreads. A lot of people legit seem to have taken it personal and even claim the book is dangerous. lol
Welcome back, Michael was looking tired. I feel zero guilt for my laziness, I work my butt off 40-50 hours a week. I also spend a lot of time taking care of my home, and yard. When I’m just out of energy, and spend an afternoon relaxing at the beach, or reading a library book, or both. My kind of multitasking😂. I also spent eunuch time in Europe that my boss said “you are so good at your job, lose the European attitude, and I’ll get you a management position. That attitude is exactly why I don’t want a to be a manager.😁
One of the most anxiety inducing feelings is when you plop down to do some quality nothing, and whatever form of domestic partner you have chooses that time to start cleaning something. It is honestly my theory of why the Sabbath was created, why it must be kept holy, and why violating it gets the death penalty. We've been at the grind all darn week, Helen! Don't even so much as think about folding something! God chose this day to be lazy. So let us be lazy, Gosh dangit!
That's what I've noticed to. Not to sound sexist but most women I see don't know how to relax. Not knowing how to be calm and relax makes you moody and super emotional. Lmao they're just making their life harder.
@@vintage_hart6392 Correction: They're making MY life harder. If they're up working. I'm expected to be up working too. If there's literally nothing I can do, then I'm either getting yelled at for being in the way, doing it wrong, or just kinda spinning around in circles trying to look busy. Great time to have to take a poop for the next 3 hours. I had to tell my ex wife game time is game time ONLY. Work time is work time. Chores time and honeydos should never interrupt lazy time. I work very hard to be so lazy.
@@vintage_hart6392 I also loved the heavy sigh communication method. She knew damn well I was down for the time, but still had to start stuff. I swear she would put stuff off just to keep me off the couch. And the "I never's" blah blah blah! When whatever it i could have been done at any other time before I sat down. Honestly, it's manipulative and controlling as f*ck, and my ex is hardly the only girl or person I know who does that.
I find it hilarious that all those assholes that call laziness a sin have somehow forgotten that God took a day off, and then told literally everyone to make sure that they take that day off, too.
Laziness in a nutshell: "im gonna do my chores later"
*a week later*
"it wont hurt if I do chores later"
Ahh procrastination. I'll talk to you about it later.
laundry imitates life. life imitates laundry.
Procrastination has little to do with laziness. People who procrastinate will often do so by finding other tasks instead. They'll be plenty busy.
@talideon The neat thing is that you can actually harness the power of procrastination! Nothing is so motivating as avoiding something else you really don't want to do, ha ha.
The way you do it is you consider your most loathed uncompleted task. Think about it in detail. Envision yourself doing it, how much it's going to suck. Fully embrace the revulsion and let it wash over you.
But lo! You can't get to that just yet, because this other thing that you hate but not as much needs to be done! So... you'll do the thing you *loathe* later. You know. You've got to do the thing you (merely) dislike!
Heard an interview with a guy who thought it up and wrote a book about it (it's probably called something like "The Power of Procrastination"; can't be arsed to look it up). He in fact used this very technique to get the book done, instead of doing his taxes lol.
...There's some flaws to the technique. XD
But I find it does help! --You know, so long as it isn't your single most loathed outstanding task that you're trying to get done; it's not much help for that, ha ha!
I just finished Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs" yesterday. Really good read and glad to see it being quoted here.
After going through a long burnout recovery, I embrace my laziness wholeheartedly. Love it.
I've suffered from mental illness for years, and after losing my job, several family members, my best friend and ending my relationship during covid, I had a nervous breakdown. During my breakdown, my roommates called me lazy and moody. They put me down in our home to people I didn't have the mental fortitude to even greet. I try not to be resentful. How could they understand? But it feels terrible. I see a psychiatrist and a therapist, and I've made great strides in the last year. I'm slowly reacclimating to society, but that hasn't shifted their opinion or the way they speak to or about me. It's gotten to the point that I'm generally avoided by people.
Wisecrack has been here through all of it. Forging understanding through critical thinking. I wouldn't be half the individual I am today without your videos, so thank you! They really do make a difference.
I am so sorry! I bombed my last year of school after my mother died, and even when I went back to fix my bad grades, some of my teachers would mock me about my laziness - even though I had high marks before her death. It is so infuriating and disgusting how people use it as an excuse to be, honestly, almost a little dehumanizing in how they treat you. I hope things get better, and you can leave that environment. I decided to just go to another school. I pay out of pocket, and take one class per semester, but at least I don't have to deal with the massive disrespect.
@@matxalenc8410 That's terrible coming from an educator, but, unfortunately, not completely unexpected. But the way you navigated that situation is inspiring. I too often overcompensate to try to prove myself, but fighting a perception is a losing battle and there's no shame in walking away from a bad situation.
I wish you all the luck in your studies and I'm glad you found a place that provides dignity and respect to it's students. Thank you for taking a moment to level with me.
@@johnmcdevitt4750I wish you all the luck with your roommates, and I'm happy you're able to get the help you need to get to a better headspace. Hopefully, you'll find yourself in a better situation, too.
Oh yay! She's back!
Being diagnosed with chronic fatigue has helped me relax me feeling bad for being "lazy"
It's good to see helen in a video. Hope you're comfortable in your pace and look forward to more from the wisecrack team.
I use my productivity to listen to audio books and podcasts too, but I find it just as important to put my energy into my friends and family and truly being there for them and that can be very fulfilling, even tho I’m tired after and don’t have time to absorb all that info or work that extra shift.
Agreed. We all need to take a breather every now and then.😊😊😊
This. Literally all of this. We're too busy to question why the system is so fucked. Too busy to think for ourselves about WHY we're doing any of this at all.
Wisecrack keeps making topical video about things I’m currently discussing with friends and family. There’s something in the zeitgeist, hope they keep it up.
This was very timely, and I'm expecting many of you out there feel the same. I've been discussing this with myself in my head for quite a while now. I work hard when I work, I deserve to be lazy when I want to be lazy. But how much is too much? Should we spend all of our time improving our financial situation if we can't even enjoy it?
I believe the host is well aware of her own issues with it, as she mentioned not being able to even find the time for new music. I hope that after reading the script out loud a couple of times she will decide to spend more time looking for music and less time listening to information or podcasts.
Not that there's anything wrong with information, I'm a sucker for it. But I've learned to balance my time with the freedom to just think. And I'm glad I do.
That said, there are definitely people out there who are lazy and don't want to do anything. The kind of people who want others to take care of them, and that is unacceptable. If they are performing a service, or learning something beneficial to mankind, that's different.
I was just thinking to myself last week. "Michael has really come into his own as the Wisecrack host. I miss the physics person and psychology person. But Michael is killing it right now so not much to complain about"
Damn, Helen coming back after vanishing for years with an absolute banger of a video about why it's totally fine for me to keep procrastinating my deadlines
Ever since I read and started applying the principles in Tim Ferris’s’ 4 Hour Work Week, I’ve increased productivity while watching mindless cat videos on UA-cam and playing hours of video games guilt free.
Welcome back Helen! so good to see you! what molecule is that on your arm? just curious!
I was just talking about this very same topic yesterday evening! awesome video as usual.
also, here in Colombia we have a saying "el pobre es pobre porque quiere" which translates as "the poor are poor because they want to". which is an argument for some people. Usually the ones with privileges or those who have forgotten where they come from. And yeah it adds shame and many more negative connotations to being poor, being lazy and so on....
I've been so down lately. This video makes me feel so much better about myself. Thanks.
After watching How Money Works, it turns out "passive income" isn't an actual real thing. Also I wasn't really told that laziness was a bad thing because my classmates in the 4th grade told me themselves that I was lazy, even though they were the ones who told me to leave them alone in the first place. Which I did and apparantly I'm being punished for doing exactly what they told me to do when it comes to leaving them alone and now I had to constantly prove to myself and other people around me that I'm not lazy when it comes to my grades. If I have good grades, then I'm not lazy, if I help out my family, I'm not lazy. At the same time, it seemed like ever since I was 6 all I ever did was "work" like school, bowling league, choir practice and I've been doing it all until I graduated high school and I think it made me too much of a serious person and I also think that my school was giving us so much homework that I wouldn't have enough free time for myself. So when I finally got to college, I wanted to have as much free time for myself as I can because I lost it all in my early years and with my Bachelor's in Accounting I've been mostly focusing on getting a job that allows me to have as much free time as I want. So while I am against laziness when it comes to the lack of critical thinking as well as empathic laziness, I'm also for rest when it comes to a hard day at work or school.
Welcome back, Helen!! Another great vid and challenge to chew on - thank you Wisecrack Team!
"Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing." - Lao Tzu
“When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.” ~ Lao Tzu
“That’s like, your opinion man.”
- The Dude
Acknowledging and allowing our limitations to exist is a right.
I love learning about society, hope we can change it within my lifetime. Educate your brothers and friends.
Helen is so precious! I just become really happy when I see and hear her, she gives off so much positive energy that it even seeps through the screen. It's so rare when a person makes you feel like this
Thank you for the thoughtfully presented take on the subject. 😌🙏🏾
Here is a little of what I think on the subject.
Productivity as an excuse for empathetic and mental laziness is one of our greatest enemies. Choosing to drop compassion for our fellows and critical thinking about the miracle and toil of our collective realities, to pick up a ball and chain made of our own self aggrandizement and judgment along with an apathetic lack of appreciation for anything. Truly I must trust that we are able to make better choices than those as we grow forward.
I live to enjoy life, not to work.
People often forget that laziness can also come from literally having mental or emotional stress, past events altering the way you see things, and so on. Yeah, messing around having fun on video games can be rather "wasteful" of my time, but I use that time to also hang out with my friends, helping them with any real life problems or stress they might have, so I feel like I'm still doing something productive.
TIL empathic laziness is a thing. I always just thought of it as being callous, but it does make sense to rephrase it when we're talking about not doing empathic things.
I just don’t like doing things I have to do just to be alive, especially when it benefits people above me more than myself
As an Xer, I've been in "quiet quit" mode my entire life. Show up to work, do my job, leave on time (sorry boss, I won't come by your office after my shift so we can "brainstorm") and don't think about my job when I'm not there.
I'm not one of those who lives to work, and I've never understood those who are like that. I'm completely ok with being "lazy".
Millenial, and I'm the same, plus I'm the guy that'll usually get the job done the quickest and most efficiently after getting into the swing of things. And as soon as I get off the clock, I do not want any reminder of my job outside of the building, cause that just reminds me of how much time I have left before clocking back in lol.
Lol "quiet quit", the fact that doing your job isn't enough, hell they even tell you that in applications now XD.
As someone who's dealing with basically lifelong ADHD and its associated executive dysfunction issues, I have a fairly complex relationship with laziness. Many times, I find myself unable to put in the effort to clean my house, cook food for myself, or generally engage in healthy habits while I spend my entire evening mindlessly scrolling. It also gets in the way of me having fun in more diverse ways and finding new things to potentially enjoy.
As a result, I constantly wrestle with questions of how lazy is too lazy? How do I avoid falling into the capitalist productivity myth? How much is my own brain chemistry responsible for my issues with getting the bare minimum done for self-care? How do I fix any of this? Is it okay?
Like most things it seems there is a healthy middle ground between laziness and working oneself to death that people find balance in.
I didn't know how much I have missed Helen till I saw her. God I thought she have left wisecrack. Glad to have you back
I live in Finland. I do my job according to my contract. If there is overtime it is negotiated a week before I have to do it. After work is my own time, which is precious to me. I spend it with my wife, dog, hobbies and friends. I make ends meet and pay my bills. I do not think about work in my own time. I could not care less if that is called "lazy" by some people or the society in general. Constant need to be "productive" is a cancer which our society needs to grow out of.
Honestly, the part where that girl hugged the donkey was the most important part of your argument.
Ugh stop
@@Rich_P_Anya someone hates donkeys
Ironically, I'm watching this at 1.5x speed during my lunch break
When I worked at a grocery store, operating a food counter, my essential job description was being immediately available for a customer when they came up.
However, I couldn't just wait for customers. That would look lazy like I was getting paid to do nothing. So I had to constantly pretend to clean the same small area for several hours.
Welcome back Helen! And with a video that hits close to Home.
Your videos are incredible! Thanks for this!😊😊😊
Leave a hearth!❤❤❤❤
Helen's back!
It feels so good to SEE you back!!
I thought I was lazy, but when laziness turned suicidal maybe I was depressed. I have my issues and have been working to overcome them. When I felt emotionally better, laziness didn't go away. Turns out, I''m not lazy but have been burntout for over a decade and now I'm trying to find my way go back to what my life was when every single task wasn't an inmense greater-than-life struggle.
We can criticize USSR for a lot of things, but we have do admit they change for better the standards for the working class in the whole world
Look how Europe has a way more healthy way to deal with work than USA. Just because the western Europe countries were afraid of the ghost of communism right next to them.
(I'm from Brazil, that's why my bad english)
The idea is that you need to be able to work and support yourself so society isn't the one doing it for you. Laziness is evil when you expect others to pick up your slack.
True, but we shouldn't forget laziness can be the result mental fatigue from dealing with society bs 24/7, trust me you find evil even in a productive society
Welcome back Helen! Good to see you!
Hooray Helen!! So glad that you're back and happy to see that you're doing better
I’m pretty early can I get some attention! I need it it’s my bday! 😂😂
happy birthday!
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
"They made us hate ourselves and love their wealth" - Kanye West, (2005 Kanye)
We miss the old Kanye.
I still fuck with Kanye
Sharing with multiple friends and family. THANK YOU for tthis!!!
Welcome back! Great video!
You can't monetize doing nothing. Companies and corporations can't make money if you're not working.
Landlords have certainly found a way...
This video and topic is so important. THANK YOU!
Helen! Lovely to see you! So glad you mentioned David Graeber (R.I.P.). Here is a thought-provoking question: How does laziness correlate with listening to our bodies? Our minds tell us to do something because that somehow makes us feel good by triggering our reward and pleasure symptoms. However, the powers that be compel us to do everything soberly and carefully while offering a meager pittance. We must sacrifice all enjoyment for work simply because it is work and because it is something we would rather not do. Hence, we have been gaslit into gaslighting ourselves that work for work's sake will stop us from killing ourselves. Oh, Sisyphus! Help us here!
Helen is back!!!! so happy to see the smartest, sassiest (and cutest?) philsopher of the web return to the pop culture zeitgeist deconstructer that is this delightful channel. Kudos for taking on a topic that hits close to home. self care for the win :)
Good to see you back!!
Some laziness actually improves productivity because it reduces stress, clears the head and gives you more energy.
I think the most important academic baseline text for this subject would be “The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” by Max Weber. Incredible stuff when paired with newer works by other authors.
Amen! Having idle time makes the work worth it!
I became like the main character in office space and the dude's offspring. I have found my inner chill.
So happy to see you back, Helen!
Leisure time should be spent in a meaningful way that brings value and balance to your life. If that means binge watching a series on Netflix, then good on you, but it's important to not let a single hobby or interest consume all your spare time. Be sure you take care of yourself physically and mentally and as long as you don't neglect your needs and obligations then in no way are you lazy. You are living a meaningful and fulfilling life. Watch that series, binge that game, stay in bed, treat yourself, and be yourself. Whatever it is you choose to do, appreciate it.
Edit: Glad to see you back Helen.
Thanks again Wisecrack!
I think being lazy feels worse now because on some level we realize that, even as individuals, we are able to make a larger impact on this world, consciously or not. Of course this is in opposition the nearly infinitely greater powers that have risen.
Still, I can't help but imagine a farmer from old days sitting back, staring at the sun, not hurting anyone. To me this feels different than what modern laziness is. Laziness today, especially when indulged in excess, can be filled with activities that are harmful towards each other and our environment.
Moments of relaxation are necessary. Laziness is not the same thing as rest. We don't always have to be producing, but we shouldn't always be consuming.
The way this sounds is that we've redefined a normal work-life balance as "being lazy".
Really enjoyed the last couple of wisecrack's and this video is the antidote to the ultra-productivity craze that has been going around the world.
I'm listening to this at 1.5x speed while working out....I feel as though I'm being spoken to directly
Nice to see you back, Helen!
Welcome back! I like the more laid back voice, seems softer and more comfortable