Read on Twitter
Laziness Does Not Exist is essential reading for anyone in the process of deschooling. https://twitter.com/tiersaj/status/1346448080120524800
Deschooling is the process of shedding schoolish thinking and transitioning to a more organic, natural way of learning.
One of the very first things I had to unlearn is the idea of laziness. When I was first researching Unschooling, I came across a Sandra Dodd blog post about how parents unknowingly disrespect their children. The example she gave is how often parents call their children "lazy".
Up until that point, I hadn't thought about calling lazy as anything other than an observation, but when I really thought about it I began to see it as a perception, not an actuality.
I resolved to delete the word "lazy" from my vocabulary. I realized that what I thought of as "lazy" was nothing more than a difference in priorities between myself and the person I directed the judgement to.
It was about a year later I came across @drdevonprice Medium article that so eloquently elaborated on the idea that there is no such thing as laziness. Now we have this book and it is so essential and timely.
First, the book holds no punches by describing what we perceive as laziness as a lie. They define the Laziness Lie as damaging by falsely making us believe our productivity is our worth, we can not trust our own feelings and limits, and there is always more you could be doing.
Just the fact that the book frames laziness as a lie that is damaging to our self worth and trust is in line with deschooling and shedding the false beliefs we are conditioned to have by our system of capitalism and schooling.
In the very first chapter, they talk about something Unschoolers HATE which is the dreaded question asked of every child, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" saying, "We don't ask nearly as often what they're passionate about or what makes them feel happy or at peace.".
Then they go into where the laziness lie derives which is Puritanical Christianity and (you guessed it) slavery. Slave owners convinced slaves that they were working their way into heaven so not working or being "lazy" was not just loafing around, but immoral and unethical.
I really LOVE the example about the much debated unequal distribution of labor in the household between male and female partners. It seems women are more susceptible to the laziness lie in this aspect, feeling like if we aren't constantly working things will fall apart.
I have often said as I let go of my tendency to control and want things exactly as I want them, the distribution of labor in my house organically leveled out. I began to do less, so he naturally picked up the slack. No nagging or calling him "lazy" necessary.
I won't spoil the book, but I highly recommend. Letting go of the idea of work as ethical has helped me feel better about myself and delve more into my passions, let go of control, and ultimately helped my relationships. This book puts the ideas into words beautifully.
