Self-Mercy Vs. Laziness - What's the Difference

Many times, we get so occupied with work and responsibilities that we forget to take care of ourselves.

When this happens, we attempt to find the time to cool off and pamper ourselves, which is where the concept of “self-mercy” comes in.

However, some people believe this to just be used to justify laziness...

For example, taking the weekend off work to binge your favorite Netflix movies as a form of self-love.

While this may be the case, oftentimes it is an excuse to procrastinate and be lazy.

Though the line between self-mercy and laziness is thin, they are different concepts.

Self-mercy is a necessity and should not be confused with laziness, so let us dive further into this.

What is Self-Mercy?

Self-mercy is taking care of oneself and showing yourself appreciation and compassion. It is the process of holding yourself in high regard and prioritizing your happiness and well-being.

This is not about gratification as in laziness, rather it motivates you to maintain practices that are beneficial for your physical and mental wellbeing.

It is the perfect way to ease stress and stay productive.

How to Practice Self-Mercy

There is no standard rule for this, it all boils down to preferences and that which brings out your best. Do those things that spark your creativity, improve your mood and enhance your growth.

Here are some simple steps for you.

1. Identify Your Goals

Outline what you intend to achieve, as this will influence your ability to properly integrate self-mercy. Divide these goals into long-term and short-term and brainstorm activities that can move you towards them.

2. Make it a Habit

To become accustomed to self-mercy and make it effective, turn it into a habit.

Incorporate it into your daily and weekly routine, and soon enough it becomes a part of you.

Pace yourself and start small so you don’t get overwhelmed.

3. Pay Attention to Your Mind

Tune out all forms of distractions and listen to your body, it will inform you when it’s time for resting and pampering. (This is the purest form of self-mercy)

4. Remove Obstacles

You probably shy away from self-love because you believe it is exhausting. Understand that you deserve every form of kindness and find ways to make the process easier for yourself.

You could find an accountability partner to help with this.

What is Laziness?

As stated earlier, it is easy to confuse laziness with self-mercy. Whereas self-mercy is a means to recharge for increased productivity, laziness is the act of avoiding tasks that you should be doing. It reduces motivation and hinders us from reaching our goals.

If you still can’t differentiate the two, here are the signs of laziness.

1. Procrastination

When you procrastinate, you constantly put off priorities and focus on less important and non-beneficial tasks.

This is a challenge faced by many people, and they waste time on unproductive things that prevent them from accomplishing their goals.

A lack of self-discipline is one of the major causes of procrastination.

2. You Feel Guilty

Practice will make you know the difference between taking needed time off to recharge, and avoiding important tasks because you were not in the mood.

The latter is laziness and will leave you with a sense of guilt because you wasted the time meant for more important activities, the time you will never get back.

To avoid this, plan your self-mercy activities.

3. Feeling Fatigued

Doing nothing at all is a sign of laziness, you do not exercise, read, or do any other activity that can contribute to your growth.

Instead, you stay indoors all day ignoring your assignments and things that do add value.

It is easy to cross the line from just the appropriate amount of self-mercy time to getting fatigued from taking too much time off due to laziness.

Conclusion

Self-mercy is the innate ability to recognize the right moments to take a rest and recharge your batteries.

Nevertheless, that does not mean completely relaxing and not doing anything productive, but rather, opening up time for active recovery.

Self-mercy can be a challenge at first and may lead you to become lazy without you even realizing it, but once you’ve established a clear border between the two, your self-mercy will allow you to perform better mentally and physically.