I

August  30th

WHEN    YOU FEEL    LAZY

“Anything   that    must    yet be  done,   virtue  can do  with    courage and promptness. For anyone  would

call    it  a   sign    of  foolishness for one to  undertake   a   task    with    a   lazy    and begrudging  spirit, or  to

push    the body    in  one direction   and the mind    in  another,    to  be  torn    apart   by  wildly  divergent

impulses.”

—SENECA,    MORAL   LETTERS,    31.b–32

f you start something and right away feel yourself getting lazy and irritated, first ask yourself: Why am I
doing this? If it really is a necessity, ask yourself: What’s behind my reluctance? Fear? Spite?
Fatigue?
Don’t forge ahead hoping that someone will come along and relieve you of this task you don’t want to
do. Or that someone else will suddenly explain why what you’re doing matters. Don’t be the person who
says yes with their mouth but no with their actions. Steve Jobs told BusinessWeek in 2005, only midway
through Apple’s stunning rise to becoming one of the world’s most valuable companies: “Quality is much
better than quantity. . . . One home run is much better than two doubles.”