Overcoming lethargy

This posting, from the Church of Scientology Missouri blog, seemed particularly appropriate in the 100 degree plus weather we’ve been experiencing lately.

“Lethargy” is a state of lessened awareness and activity brought about by a feeling of a lack of energy.  The word originally came from a Latin word, meaning “forgetfulness.”  Most people experience mild forms of lethargy, and given the explosion of the sale of energy drinks, one might hazard a guess that this is a problem for which a true remedy has not been discovered.

It is a worthy pursuit to discuss possible remedies for this state, as when we feel lethargic, we are not at the top of our game.  We treat others unkindly, we lose productivity, and the accumulated waste of production over years could be the difference between achieving one’s life goals – or not.  It would be a shame if we reviewed our life’s work after 70 years only to discover that it fell short – because we were too tired.

L. Ron Hubbard discovered the source of exhaustion.  He delineates both the cause and the cure in the book, The Problems of Work.  As he says, “Chronic exhaustion, then, is not the product of long hours and arduous application.  It is the product of the accumulation of the shocks and injuries incident to life, each of them adding up perhaps to a totality of only fifty or seventy-five hours.  But this accumulation – the accumulation of injury, repulsion and shock – eventually mounts up to a complete inability to do anything.”

The remedy for lethargy, exhaustion, boredom with work and procrastination is free.  It can be done by anyone with positive benefit.  It does not require a “life coach” or a searching examination of one’s childhood – in fact, as each of these is a symptom of introversion, this would be exactly the wrong thing to do!  The solution is to take a walk.

Again, from Problems of Work, “When one feels tired on finishing his work – no matter if the thought of doing so is almost all that he can tolerate without falling through the floor – he should go out and walk around the block until he feels rested.  In short, he should walk around the block andlook at things until  he sees the things he is walking near.  It does not matter how many times he walks around the block, he should walk around the block until he feels better.”

As simple as this sounds, it is very effective.  Although at first, one may feel even more tired while performing this exercise, if one just keeps at it, eventually, he will “brighten up” and the world itself will look more cheerful and confrontable.   The Problems of Work even includes variations on this drill for salesmen who get tired of talking to people.

No light matter, the subject of overcoming lethargy is one of accomplishing goals, getting along with others and being able to get and keep a job.  It is not a matter for “pep talks” – if these worked, no one would ever procrastinate on a homework assignment or give the boss a late report – we’d just have a pre-recorded pep talk lecture for our daily consumption.  Rather, this is a subject which requires effective action.  As Mr. Hubbard said in The Problems of Work, “Introversion results in weariness, exhaustion and then an inability to work.  The remedy for it is extroversion – a good look at and communication with the wider environment.   And unless this is practiced, then in view of the fact that any worker is subject to injuries or illnesses of one kind or another, a dwindling spiral will ensue which makes work less and less palatable until, at length, it cannot be performed at all.  And we have the basis of not only a nonproductive, but a criminal society.”

The Church of Scientology of Missouri offers an additional tool to overcoming lethargy, entitled the “How to get Motivated” course.  Easily completed in a weekend, contains additional drills and exercises that one can use to help break the chains of apathy and start on the road to activity and happiness.  However, one can make marvelous inroads by application of the simple tool outlined above, and we would like to encourage you to give it a try the next time you’re feeling sluggish.