That’s the title of an article written by Señor Mariano José de Larra. He wrote it in 1833, we read it in Spanish class a week ago, and I can’t think of a more relevant time to bring it up than now.

The story revolves around a poor Monsieur who travels to Spain hoping to take care of some business. He plans out his week-long trip but instead stays there for half a year. What causes the delay? All the places he went told him to vuelva usted mañana, or come back tomorrow, over and over again until the days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. On top of that, his name and files got mixed up and nothing was taken care of.

Poor guy. He was the innocent lamb of one of our deadliest crimes: Laziness.

Albeit some more than others, everyone is guilty. Lethargy in the corporal form, Indifference in the mental, Laziness destroys.

As we sit emaciated by inaction, the world that would have been flies by, and we may be even too lazy to contemplate its loss.

Take school for example. Students putting off homework until the last minute, motivation by procrastination their motto. But the term itself is counterintuitive. Procrastination indicates a lack of motivation, and who is motivated without motivation?

The majority of the student body it seems. So many people put off doable work until everything piles up in one big immobile heap. Then, they either give up or stab at it randomly, both of which achieves nothing.

People go in with prestigious goals for the future, but Laziness chips it all away year by year, day by day, choice by choice. The dream is then faded, diminishing, gone.

Same goes for the rest of the world. Advancements don’t just happen, relationships don’t mend themselves, and pounds don’t just shed. Everything needs discipline and action. Without them? A volatile imbalance. Nothing.

The early bird doesn’t necessarily get the worm.

The fastest one does.

And the one that just stays in the nest?