THE ART OF LAZINESS

I think it's funny how before the announcement on the 19th of July 2019 quite a number of people (whose only idea of who I am is based off what they see on my WhatsApp status updates) thought or would have loved to think that I was lazy, unserious, unambitious, etc, etc, etc. While I totally understand why they thought that, it still cracks me up nonetheless.

But now, due to new information that came to light on said date, those people have either totally abandoned those thoughts, started doubting those ideas or think I'm one of those pretentious people in class who play all day with their friends and read all night when everyone has gone to sleep then end up getting 100% on tests while their peers don't do as well.

Truth is, I am lazy and unserious (but most definitely not unambitious) but just not in the way you would think. So maybe their initial thoughts were half right.

About laziness: I like to think of my laziness as being selectively participative which I take to mean unless something is absolutely necessarily important, I'm NOT going to do it, in line with my age long mantra of "why do more when you can do less".

This means you will most likely not see me studying and I won't put in as much time as most people would towards getting a particular result. Case in point: I WILL NOT read all semester to pass a course, I WILL NOT start reading for exams few weeks to exam either, I most likely will start reading for an exam less than 24 hours before the exam and will end up putting in about 6 hours actually reading while the rest would be spent watching movies or series, posting on my WhatsApp status, eating, thinking about what to eat in the farthest or nearest future or just sleeping.

So, if you come to ask me a week before an exam, heck sometimes even the night before an exam, if I can explain x y z, chances are I would say "I can't because I've not read" and I would not be lying because I would not have read at that time or I just started reading and I haven't gotten to that part of the note. This actually happened A LOT in school. Some course mates would come to ask me to explain some part of a course and usually I hit them with the "I've not read" response. I'm sure most of them thought I was lying and being stingy with knowledge but the truth is all of those times I really had not read.

Maybe I could have still explained to them without reading it but at the moment, seeing as I've not entered the mental space to begin preparations for the exam, I didn't want to force myself into that headspace. Plus, I just really didn't want to mislead anybody, because most times, the way I understand things is different from the way the lecturer expressed it in class and in notes and if I'm going to explain to you, it's best I explain using the lecturer's notes than leading you down the risky path I always take of what I like to call freestyling 😏.

But the clause with me being selectively participative is, while the goal is clear, I'm just only willing to do what is NEEDED to get what is wanted or desired. So if I only need to get 45/43/41 or even 49 on 70 to get the grade I want in a course (which is always an A 😊😅), best believe I won't kill myself for that course. Sure I'd prepare to get the best but in the exam hall, I know what I need so I'm not going to stress myself if I am sure of getting at least that. After all, 70 and 99 is still A and no one is giving you a prize for the first position in a course shey? 😅

On the other hand, if I need a 55 on 70 (which is really the highest I've ever needed) to get what I want, best believe that if there's a line to die on, you'll see my carcass on that line. This doesn't mean I'd read for that exam for 1 week though, it just means I'll put in a little 👌 more effort.

The truth is, being selectively participative is more of the art of knowing what you must do to get what you want. This means you have to really understand yourself, understand your ability in each chosen endeavor and determine what you need to do to get what you want and resolve do nothing more (unless it gives a useful edge) or less than that to get your desired outcome.

So yea, saying I'm lazy is actually me being selectively participative because saying "selectively participative" is actually quite a mouthful 😅 and just a lot to say or type so what I NEED to say to pass my message is "I'm lazy". However, the recipient of said message chooses to interpret and emulate their perception of my laziness is at their own risk but I hope the last few words have helped you gain a better understanding as to the art of my laziness.