Killer Robot Mowers, Milk Breaks, and the Munchies
Posted by Troy | Filed under Thoughts
I would have coveted the AutoMower greatly as a young person… I hated mowing the lawn…
Actually, I’ve recently been reflecting on lawn mowing as it relates to my avoidance issues.
Whenever I’m faced with a particular task—big or small—that must be done, it almost always seems to be the least likely thing I’ll do.
Even though it is often something I enjoy or understand its value or feel strongly about.
I’ve never really understood this avoidance… I thought maybe it was the fact that I dislike pain or conflict…
But honestly, what is painful about mowing the lawn (or doing homework, or making a phone call, or filing paperwork, or riding my bike….)?
My parents lawn probably takes a maximum of 30 minutes to mow. I’d manage to make that job take days…
First I’d hope that I couldn’t get the thing started, or that it’d be out of gas, or something else would come up (church or school or whatever)…
Then, after exhausting all other excuses I’d start mowing… taking a break every two or three rows to have a glass of milk, or catch my breath, or check the fridge, or flip the Kriss Kross tape in my Walkman…
Finally about 2 hours later I’d have that great sense of accomplishment that comes with smelling the freshly cut lawn… and head inside to kick back on the couch for some guilt-free Saved by the Bell.
I’ve wondered often if I have a problem with laziness…
The Bible speaks quite strongly of it (and I take the Bible pretty seriously)… It is even included in the infamous “Seven Deadly Sins.” So you can imagine the guilt I’ve experienced over the years as I’ve never seemed to overcome my lack of will-power to get stuff done.
Something that has always confused me though, is that I’m not lazy. I work, and I work hard… often to a fault… when I finally find a way to throw myself into a task I give it my all until it is done (and done right).
About a month ago, I was in a waiting room reading Psychology Today when I came across a feature titled “Escape Artists“—a look at the psychology of procrastination…
Turns out I’m not lazy after all… my mind just cannot place long-term payoff in the same value category as immediate gratification…
Laziness involves a lack of desire; with procrastination, the desire to start that project is there, but it consistently loses out to our appetite for delay. And this is no ordinary delay. Procrastination is considered a needless, often irrational delay of some important task in favor of a less important, but seemingly more rewarding, task. And that accompanying negative feeling—the gnawing guilt, the building anxiety—is one way we know we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do.
It may not sound like much, but it explains a lot. Even down to really core spiritual and life-altering behavior…
The internet of course has allowed me to feed the immediate more and more rapidly, which I imagine has made that appetite stronger than it has ever been (and making long-term payoff practically unimaginable, let alone valuable)…
I’ve fallen prey to its most powerful aromas… seducing me away from satisfying (but strenuous) feasts of life only to get my fix of proverbial vending-machine junk, which is very tasty but doesn’t satisfy (actually makes you hungrier) and has extremely disastrous consequences (like cancer and gum disease and obesity)…
Of course those consequences fall into the same long-term category as the procrastinated item’s long-term payoff… so they aren’t much of a deterrent.
So where does this leave me?
Not exactly sure… but I am happy to always be learning more about myself and becoming more aware of what my real struggles are and finding practical physiological and spiritual and psychological solutions… (not that they are all totally distinct… it’s all connected, right?)
Anyways… is it just me, or does that auto-mower seem to have his sights set on that yuppie family… and where exactly is that kid planning to shoot that basketball?
Tags: procrastination, psychology, science
