I realised very quickly that being lazy for me was an easy pattern to fall into.  I found comfort in TV shows and YouTube videos and at times forgot about the world outside. When we used to have two-week holidays back in high school, I noticed how much time I would spend indoors watching tv or eating absurd amounts of junk food, especially in winter. These habits started to reoccur and I quickly started to delve deeply into a much more morbid state of being. Now some days, you do just need to lay in bed or on the couch and watch Netflix and eat to your heart’s content, but I started to notice how it became more negative for me. I couldn’t quite describe it but, looking back on it all now, I figured out what it was – it was lethargy.

I fucking hate that word so much. It sounds gross and makes me CRINGE everytime I hear it. But reevaluating my life and my choices meant accepting the words lazy, pathetic, dry and lethargic as acceptable adjectives to describe what I was becoming.

My mate from church, George, spoke about this frequently. Even to this day, he is one of the most active people I know. George was always somewhat athletic. He had a great build and was always super competitive when it came to any sport we used to play as a group. But like many others, when he graduated from high school and started university, he fell into the odd patterns of a lazy student. I didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing at the time but I noticed it – having watched my older brother show similar symptoms – and I figured this was normal engineering student life.

Much to my surprise though, he broke out of these patterns, unlike many others struggling through study and work. From re-joining a soccer team to taking up Muay Thai and even getting into mountain bike riding, I couldn’t help but envy his sense of drive.

I spoke to him constantly about his experiences and the one thing I learnt was that the main motivation was to NOT step into the dark and dreaded bed of lethargy.

When I figured out that I was starting to sleep in that bed, I decided to make sure that I wouldn’t leave the issue disregarded any further and started to at least try and not be as lazy as I once was. So I figured out three main areas of my life in which I needed to get the blood moving  and decided to trigger them in different ways.

The first was physical. I started working out properly when I was 17 and I haven’t really stopped. Muscle building and proper exercise that targets overall health and fitness are supposed to go hand in hand but often get misconstrued. I decided to increase my cardio and also started researching interesting ways to get my heart rate up apart from just running on a treadmill. I started by going on runs with our dog Roman. He was always up for it and super fast and energetic so it wasn’t easy at all. But after a while I wanted to do more with my hands and the rest of my body, as opposed to just using my legs. After much deliberation, I figured out a great way for me to do my cardio and learn something at the same time. My fascination with Mixed Martial Arts drove me towards picking up some sort of striking exercise, so I decided to hire a trainer and do mitt work every two to three weeks. I still do it and tbh I sweat like a motherf****r. Not only am I building my fitness back up through endurance, I’m also improving my hand eye coordination and my body movement as well. A lot of body building exercises created stiffness and lactic acid, so releasing all of this through some sort of discipline helped me get back into great shape and the endorphins after a half an hour session meant the rest of the day was spent in a good mood.

The second was mental. I learnt a lot from podcasts but for me, nothing could ever be the same as a good book. Instead of reading Harry Potter for the 1000th time (quiz me on it, I dare you), I moved towards really great non-fiction books that interested me. Right now, I’m reading this book on Genghis Khan and, even though it can be kinda hard to grasp at times, it’s actually pretty great.   I learnt a whole bunch on the Mongols like the fact that they didn’t tax schools, religious institutions or the equivalent of hospitals, or the fact that they showed great curiosity in the religion and customs of other societies. I used to think they were nothing more than barbarians but now I can’t help but think that they actually were onto some really great ideas about civilisation as a whole.

As boring as that may sound to some of ya’ll, I think it’s vital for us as a generation to not limit ourselves to the education we receive from schools and universities. Rather, we should dare to watch, read and discover the world through our own deduction. It may not be through a book, but I found documentaries and TedX talks a great way to spend my free time as well.

Despite engaging myself physically and mentally, I still felt somewhat empty so the third and last aspect was engaging my emotions. Last Wednesday, my mum sent me a message on Whatsapp. It was a chain message that celebrated the birthday of Charlie Chaplin…even though Charlie Chaplin’s birthday was nearly a month and a half before hand. However, the message reminded me of three very emotional statements that he had made during his life.

The first was that nothing is permanent, not even our troubles.

The second was that he loved to walk in the rain because nobody could see his tears.

And the third was that the most wasted day in life is one in which we have not laughed.

Every day that I spent on my ass was a day that I had done a disservice to all three of these statements. Charlie Chaplin is one of my heroes and even though it’s been long since he has passed, I felt like I had failed his memory and more importantly, his impact on this world.

In my zombified state I forgot about letting go of my worries, I was too afraid to ever shed a tear even to myself, and above all else I forgot to laugh and smile at even the most enjoyable moments. And that was the saddest part of my existence. Even though not every day is the same, I now know that I at least have to try and live with some type of zest, with a little bit of curiosity and little more enthusiasm. I chose to really enjoy little moments, to laugh at a joke, to really listen to conversations and to try and not be afraid to shed a tear every now and then.

So, I know the Walking Dead may make zombies out to be super cool, but being a zombie isn’t at all. Its shit…Don’t die, don’t fall into that pit of lethargy and fall asleep. Wake up and try and live a little.