We often dismiss people as “lazy” when we can’t understand the reasons for their inertia or inaction. If someone’s behavior makes no sense to us, passing judgment on it feels very natural. He won’t apply to jobs, he sits on the couch all day, and he hasn’t washed a dish in weeks—he must be lazy. Labeling someone as “lazy” can turn a complex, challenging situation into an open-and-shut case.
