Beware the ‘laziness trap’ Published June 1, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Branden Neeley Airman Leadership School instructor F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo. -- Oh the things I've done! Or should I say the things I "could" have done. My first job out of tech school was working in the base communications center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. The job entailed sitting around all night waiting for messages to come in over the network, sitting around some more and finally ending the night by sitting around some more. What did I learn from this job? Honestly, not very much, but this was nobody's fault but my own. As I sat around all night staring at repeats of CNN, I'd become lazy. It was now a chore to get anything accomplished and an even bigger pain to get something started. My morale was shot and I couldn't seem to get motivated. I remember telling myself I was going to start taking classes next semester. The semester would come and go with no progress, but I would say to myself, "There's always next semester." Before I knew it, a year and a half had rolled by with still no progress. I didn't even realize what I was doing, or what I was missing out on, until one day when my NCO in charge saw what was happening and sat me down for a little chat. He explained how he understood the night shift was slow; however, it was an opportunity that wouldn't be around for long. He warned me not to fall into the so called "laziness trap." We all know the trap, the one where the less you do the more you don't want to do anything. I went home that night and thought about what we had talked about and arrived the next night ready to get out of that trap. But first things first, I had to turn on the TV and watch some CNN. I wish I could say I changed my attitude right then and there but I didn't. I hadn't become lazy overnight and I sure wasn't going to fix it overnight. Slowly, but surely, I made headway. I started by finally signing up for that class I'd been putting off, studying for promotion instead of watching CNN and then getting involved in squadron activities. A few months down the road my attitude had changed, my morale was up and I was finally seeing the opportunity I'd been told so much about. Don't fall into the laziness trap; it's not an easy one to get out of. Get active and stay active. Look for those opportunities to get involved and stay involved. I look back at all I could have accomplished, but I don't look back with regret, only as a learning moment in my life. That was the job that taught me laziness breeds laziness and that was exactly what I didn't want to be.