What is the antidote for laziness?

Dear Nanay,

I am 52 years old, living alone and working in a Chinese restaurant. My job is so boring due to the slowness of the business in recent months. Sometimes I think I’m just getting lazy and more depressed by the day. May I know what is the antidote for laziness and boredom? Thank you.

—LAZY & CONFUSED MAN

Dear lazy & confused man,

There are so many things you can do!

There is an infinite amount of material you can read — books, magazines and newspapers. There is so much you can do not only to entertain yourself but also to feed your mind and to make yourself better.  If you have a lot of idle time, imagine how much you can accomplish and learn if you only turned all of that time into learning opportunities?

Books can teach you anything you want to learn, from how to draw to how to analyze financial statements.  From trivia and factoids to culture and geography.  Choose the things that interest you or things that you have always been curious about.  Then maybe get one or two books or magazines related to those topics and start reading.  You will be amazed at what you can learn just from reading.

Or perhaps you can look at reading purely just for pleasure.  There are so many good fiction and non-fiction titles for all age groups and all interests.  Just by reading, you are actually exercising your mind and training it to learn.  And you cannot believe the journey that a good book can take you on.

Another option would be to look online for courses that can teach you a new trade or a new skill.  And once you are proficient in these new skills, perhaps you can use that new learning to find a new or better job.  Or you can look at videos that will perhaps teach you a hobby.  How to paint?  How to play the piano?  Never has there been so much material available to everyone for free.

At the end of the day, you should look at your availability of time as a blessing and an opportunity.  So many of us have so little time during the day because we all have so many things to do.  The luxury of having time is something that you should not only cherish but take advantage of.  Improve yourself.  Educate yourself.  Learn new things.  Acquire new skills.  You will never regret it.

Sincerely,

Nanay

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