Greatest motivators for decisions are greed, fear and laziness. – Edward De Bono

No one needs case studies with decisions taken to satisfy one’s greed.  History is replete with such decisions. Casinos would go out of business if there is no such thing as greed.

Fear coming in the way of rational thinking is also understandable. Either we take some actions out of fear or freeze and do nothing out of fear.

Staying in a relationship (that deteriorates by the day) for fear of the alternative – comes to my mind as a good example.

But can laziness be a motivator?
See the following examples and decide for yourself
– Staying in a job/career (that had seen its peak and is on the wane) hoping somehow things will turn around. Even if we are qualified, talented it is comforting to stay in the familiar, than to venture out in to the unknown.
– In a declining market, staying in business past the breakeven point. It is easy to stay the course than to introduce new business processes, products or services or change locations. It is easy to attribute the decline to the economy, government policies etc. than to commit oneself to something new and challenging.  
– Holding on to stocks long past their prime, and then convincing oneself that it is easy to sell them on the rebound. 

In all the above cases I think laziness is a prime motivator.

Personally I can vouch that laziness could be a motivator even in simple acts such as when you are driving. Often times I hesitate to change lanes when stuck behind large vehicles like a dump truck or a bus that is destined to stop frequently. I see the vehicles move well on either side of my lane but still I hesitate to change for no other reason except laziness. 

I think the Internet Marketers who market any online service know for sure that it would be sometime before you wake up and cancel a service. That’s why there is this offer, ‘if you are not completely satisfied at the end of the trial period you can cancel at no risk or cost’. They count on customer’s built-in resistance to change and they often succeed. 

Again I am a living example. It was long before I cancelled my service with my cable service provider for movie network and after much hesitation I cancelled my service for premium pay channels. Even though in each case, I knew pretty well that I don’t have time to watch those specialty channels; I hung on to them due to plain lethargy. 

Even now, with just the high-speed Internet connection serving all my needs, I can dispense with even the basic service from my cable service provider. I don’t know how long before I could muster the strength to call and cancel this service. 

You see even saving a few dollars a month, doesn’t motivate me to take the necessary action because laziness is a greater motivator. 

So my request to you dear readers: don’t be like me. 

Act swiftly and reap the rewards.  It is the man of action that the Goddess of wealth pursues.