Attack the Week (ATW)

January 5, 2025

Sunday Thoughts

I’m naturally lazy. I have always been like that. In school as a teen, I would just do the bare minimum to pass my grades. I had no aspirations to learn and was more into sports and other hobbies. In my adult life, I would continue my minimalist approach to putting energy into any task, be it at work or doing things at home. Lucky for me, my wife taught me how to start “unlaze” myself, which I thought was eye-opening. I, however, still carry a certain level of laziness with me at all times. Maybe that’s one of the reasons my all-time favourite movie depicts a lazy bowler, the “dude”. I even own the same sweater.

Source: Dall-E

Despite my laziness, I have accomplished things I didn’t think I had in me. Where would I be now had I been the opposite? I will never find out. I am now selectively lazy. I’m putting energy into things that I think are important (like this place) and less emphasis on things that are less relevant.

If you are lazy, my advice is to start working on elements to shift yourself into a different gear. There are real costs to laziness. It feels harmless in the moment, a warm cocoon of procrastination. But over time, it creeps into every corner of your life, robbing you of opportunities, potential, and, ultimately, joy.

So why do we let laziness in? At its root, I think laziness is a form of fear. Fear of failure, fear of discomfort, fear of change. Doing nothing feels safer than risking rejection or facing a challenge. It’s easier to distract ourselves with entertainment than to sit with the discomfort of our own shortcomings. Laziness is a form of avoidance—of life, of effort, of responsibility.

If you’re reading this and feeling a pang of guilt, don’t despair. The antidote to laziness isn’t some grand, heroic gesture. It’s a simple decision to begin. The real magic lies in showing up consistently, even when it’s hard. So stand up. Just start. The world is waiting for you. Don’t let laziness keep you from it.

Best of Luck!

If you are ready to explore the full Paper Alfa offering, why not start with a 7-day trial, which is still open. Here, we are the opposite of lazy. We learn, adjust and take long-term approaches to compounding knowledge and wealth.

Let’s now read Macro D’s latest thinking before we briefly scan the week’s upcoming calendar. We then check out the 10 most important charts for the upcoming week before scanning the newest output of our asset allocation model.

Let’s go!