Laziness as a way of life -

[ChurchOfGodBear]

Laziness seems to be a defining trait of lolcowdom, much like Sonic or refusal to take criticism. We see it in Chris, Connor, Joe Cracker, TJ, ADF and nearly every other cow to varying degrees.

What I want to know is, how does someone live this way? How do you get to a point where the success or failure of everything you do is defined by how much effort you had to exert? Where results mean nothing, it's merely the ability to avoid work... and to truly not care what can happen if you put even a little effort into something?

Is it a lack of confidence? Do they truly believe they can't do anything?
Is it an excess of ego? Do they believe they shouldn't need to do anything?
Is it a cry for security? Do they get some form of comfort or satisfaction out of it?
Are they just plain stupid?

I ask because I've found my own Chris-clone in life. He's unbelievably lazy, despite having opportunities in front of him. At this stage, he's looking at being in major trouble with both the law and his employer... and yet, if he just put in even the tiniest amount of effort, these problems would go away. I truly don't grasp how being lazy is a goal unto itself in these situations.

 

[Clown Doll]

Connor

I don't think Connor's terminally lazy, to the point where he can't fix his life if he just got out of his self-pitying hole. Yeah, he's not putting much effort into his education but he's enrolled in college and believes in his skills as a writer, although those dreams are unrealistic. Connor's lazy yeah, but imo he's closer to an average spoiled NEET than a terminally lazy case like Chris/ADF or at least it's too early to judge whether he can fix himself.

 

[autisticdragonkin]

I think that it probably comes from thinking that they are already perfect and they don't want to risk ruining their perfection with risk and find no reason to try to improve themselves

 

[MasterDisaster]

I find that conveniences, poor parenting/New Age Hippie shit, Welfare/goverment and/or a complete lack of shame tends to lead to an overly sedentary lifestyle. As a society we're overwhelmed by entertainment to the point where we demand it at damn near impossible levels, parents are either kids raising kids or afraid to show any form of discipline in case someone calls CPS or tries to have them arrested for abuse, I've personally watched people teach their own kids how the welfare system works (And yes, welfare does have it's positive notes but way, way too many people are abusing the system) and not caring about their actions at all seem to be the perfect recipe for a prime lolcow.

 

[Golly]

I think that it probably comes from thinking that they are already perfect and they don't want to risk ruining their perfection with risk and find no reason to try to improve themselves

I think this theory holds some truth, but I think there's more fear than pride to it. They're afraid of any form of criticism because it would confirm what they're afraid to consider: they are imperfect and need to improve at what they love to get the recognition they feel they are already entitled to.

 

[Forever Sunrise]

I think these people are stuck in a state where their lives are just bearable enough and their problems just great enough that they can exist in a 'limbo' that hangs between the 'extremes' of actually sorting things out, or descending into terminal depression. I've had bouts of mild to moderate depression before, and I can safely say that if I'd been given the option of whining about it or doing something actually productive, I'd have taken the former option without hesitation and considered myself 100% justified in doing so. This was pretty average teenage angst level stuff, though, that I grew out of very quickly. However, I could see somebody in a situation like TJ's latching onto the actual miserableness of their life and using it to create a feedback loop that rejects any input besides their own self-indulgent whining. It's sad in many ways, but is pretty-much the definition of a condition that only the sufferer can pull themselves out of.

 

[chimpburgers]

Some of them are plain narcissists and feel that work is beneath them. They feel entitled and puzzled at how normal people are able to deal with problems more effectively than they can.

 

[Watcher]

It's a lack of confidence mixed with depression and a lack of responsibility.

It's been proven you're much more productive when you have a positive outlook on life and motivation with what you're doing. In Sales I was especially taught that the key to selling something was being motivated and believing you could do it. And that not having either would mean I would not be able to sell anything to even an interested customer. I've seen the same thing with carpentry where if you're building a desk for instance, if you have a positive attitude while doing it. You not only build it much faster but it's much more enjoyable. For me it's always a force of will to block out negativity to get motivated to do things.

When you're depressed, have nothing to do and don't feel like you can do anything you invariably never start or finish anything. This coupled with a lack of any real consequence in their life and an entitlement complex lead to laziness.

 

[Forever Sunrise]

It's a lack of confidence mixed with depression and a lack of responsibility.

It's been proven you're much more productive when you have a positive outlook on life and motivation with what you're doing. In Sales I was especially taught that the key to selling something was being motivated and believing you could do it. And that not having either would mean I would not be able to sell anything to even an interested customer. I've seen the same thing with carpentry where if you're building a desk for instance, if you have a positive attitude while doing it. You not only build it much faster but it's much more enjoyable. For me it's always a force of will to block out negativity to get motivated to do things.

When you're depressed, have nothing to do and don't feel like you can do anything you invariably never start or finish anything. This coupled with a lack of any real consequence in their life and an entitlement complex lead to laziness.

I agree with this completely. I'm an art student, and I can safely say that if you're angry/frustrated/annoyed/just generally feeling low, you'll have all the creativity of a dead mollusk. Sometimes I just know that if I touch something I'm working on when I'm in a certain mood, I'll end up ruining it.

Ironically, the solution is to have lots of things on the go at once, so even if you can't face doing one thing, you can go do another and not feel like you've wasted the day. It actually works really well.

 

[meatslab]

I think these people are stuck in a state where their lives are just bearable enough and their problems just great enough that they can exist in a 'limbo' that hangs between the 'extremes' of actually sorting things out, or descending into terminal depression. I've had bouts of mild to moderate depression before, and I can safely say that if I'd been given the option of whining about it or doing something actually productive, I'd have taken the former option without hesitation and considered myself 100% justified in doing so. This was pretty average teenage angst level stuff, though, that I grew out of very quickly. However, I could see somebody in a situation like TJ's latching onto the actual miserableness of their life and using it to create a feedback loop that rejects any input besides their own self-indulgent whining. It's sad in many ways, but is pretty-much the definition of a condition that only the sufferer can pull themselves out of.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I think most of them, like ADF for example, end up convincing themselves that not even trying to work on their problems is okay. It especially doesn't help when you've got an echo chamber of other people just like you making you feel better about your terrible life decisions and encouraging you to never get better. It also doesn't help to have a shit attitude and world view along with that.

 

[AnOminous]

Took the words right out of my mouth. I think most of them, like ADF for example, end up convincing themselves that not even trying to work on their problems is okay. It especially doesn't help when you've got an echo chamber of other people just like you making you feel better about your terrible life decisions and encouraging you to never get better. It also doesn't help to have a shit attitude and world view along with that.

Phil is sort of unique in that his poor decisions have actually led to pretty awful consequences like his homelessness and obvious poor health, but even that hasn't resulted in him ditching the ass-patters who tell him he's a wonderful princess who has been mistreated by the world. In fact, he actually ditched real life friends who cared about him in favor of these shitheads.

 

[meatslab]

Phil is sort of unique in that his poor decisions have actually led to pretty awful consequences like his homelessness and obvious poor health, but even that hasn't resulted in him ditching the ass-patters who tell him he's a wonderful princess who has been mistreated by the world. In fact, he actually ditched real life friends who cared about him in favor of these shitheads.

Yeah but Phil isn't exactly a normal guy. He has plenty of opportunities to make his life better, but he's obviously perfectly content with his lifestyle. He has and always will have a support system. As intolerable as Tumblr people are, they know how to network and signal boost those in need (whether the people "in need" actually are or not, that's a conversation for another time). I'm sure plenty of people would be able to (and have offered) to help him with getting a job (even if it's volunteering), housing, etc. but he chooses not to take it.

 

[Skeletor]

How many cows are able to hold down legit jobs? I know Dobson has or had a job for a while, Kengle is some kind of nurse, and Taxman works part-time. All the rest seem to be on welfare or off of inherited money.