It feels good to do nothing and just be lazy lying on the couch the whole day. Everyone has those days. There will definitely be times when you feel so lazy and you do not want to work or take action on anything. All you want to do is to do nothing and get lazy.
This is a normal phenomenon because it feels good to do so. However, why are some people lazier than others? Why do some people are motivated in moving around, taking action and getting things done, while others prefer to do nothing and become lazy?
If you want to know the answer, continue to read on and you will discover the real secret behind productive people who get things done and lazy people who choose to do nothing.
Does laziness have something to do with your gene? Well, before you discover the answer, you have to understand how your brain works.
How Does Your Brain Work
In order to understand the science behind laziness and how it works, you must first understand how our brains work.
Evolution has molded our brain to respond positively to food, sex, and exercise. You read that right, when we do something we love like food, sex, and exercise, our brain will reward us through our dopamine system.
This is why some people will crave for chocolate and ice-cream. They seem to be able to eat a lot and there are many studies proved that eating chocolate and ice-cream can make people feel pleasurable.
Our brains will create dopamine to reward us and make us feel good when we react to food, sex, and exercise.
The dopamine system is there to ensure our survival throughout generations over generations. Most people understand that they can experience the pleasurable reward from food and sex, but some find it difficult to link exercise as pleasurable. And to understand this, we need to refer to a study conducted by two groups of mice.
Is Laziness Part of Your Gene?
Many types of research and studies have been conducted on the subject whether laziness is part of our gene. There was a study conducted on two groups of mice. And the study showed that one group of mice that chose to run on the wheel more often than the other group has an obvious difference on their offspring.
After ten generations, the offspring from the group of mice that run more often showed that they possessed the similar trait. Their offspring run 75% more often than the other group. And after sixteen generations, the mice run seven miles a day compared to the average group of mice that only run four miles a day.
This study shows that our motivation for physical activity was genetic. We inherit a part of our activity gene from our parents. Meaning to say, if your parents show a strong desire for physical activities such as sports and exercise, you will inherit part of that gene and you will also have a stronger desire for physical activities.
Apart from that, the study on the mice also showed that the mice that run more often tend to have a stronger dopamine system with higher motivation in dealing with rewards and pleasures.
In other words, the mice inherit and are genetically addictive to running. The same goes for humans. Scientifically speaking, hard-working parents will have hard-working children and vice versa.
People who are genetically addicted to activity will crave and desire for activities, otherwise, their brains will react similarly to a drug addictive eroding effect like nicotine and cocaine. They will crave for the things that they desire due to a stronger reception in the gene.
Besides physical activity, we also inherit genes for other traits such as procrastination, impulsivity, work ethic, and also laziness. The “couch potato” gene, which also known as the laziness gene is responsible for a type of dopamine receptor in our brains. And without this receptor, you will be more likely to sit around and do nothing.
This dopamine receptor gene allows your brain to reward you and make you feel good when you take action. And without this receptor in your brain, you will feel nothing. You will not feel pleasurable or rewarded for the action you take. As a result, you will become less likely to take action and are not motivated to do things. Thus, you will be labeled as what the society deems as lazy.
What Can You Do To Overcome Laziness
You do understand that laziness is part of your gene and your desire for activity may not be entirely up to you. However, that does not mean that there is nothing you can do about it or to change.
Your gene does play a part in determining your trait, but there are also other environmental factors that will and can determine them. Therefore, you are not doomed to live a life of laziness.
Although making a change can be difficult for some, knowledge is power. If you think you are genetically lazy, get up and fight your DNA. You do not have to let your DNA becomes the only factor that will determine your trait and make you who you are. You can still create a supportive environment and train yourself to become hard working and overcome your laziness gene.
For example, create a reward system that will motivate and drive you into taking action. Every time after you have taken some action, reward yourself with your favorite beverage, get a snack, give a pat on the back, watch a movie, play games, etc. And if you accomplished bigger targets, reward yourself with holidays or go shopping and buy yourself something you love.
You have to slowly train yourself to feel the sense of accomplishment and victory every time you achieved your target. This will program your brain to feel pleasurable and to drive yourself toward overcoming laziness and working for the things that you want in life.
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