"Pretend Interest" and Apathy... What To Do About Them!

According to Merriam-Websters dictionary "apathy is defined as the following: lack of emotion; lack of interest; indifference".

Wow, thats pretty depressing. However, look around you. Dont many of you work with people with this attitude. I dont, because I run my own business. However, I can remember when I worked for others and how many of the people I worked with fit this description. At that time, I couldnt understand how they could be that way. While I left corporate America, for my own separate set of reasons, apathy was certainly not one of them.

Unfortunately in the business that Chuck and I run we also see too much apathy. Of course, we get people who show what I like to call "pretend interest". They figure if they pretend an interest in something else, maybe no one will notice their apathetic behavior.

The individuals who pretend an interest in creative real estate will call us, and want us to guarantee that they will succeed without any effort I might add. NOTE: NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE YOUR SUCCESS BUT YOU. Or they will want to know how quick they can make a million dollars again, without doing any work. Or, how do I know it will work for me, in my area. As far as their area, creative real estate works in most areas. However, will it work for them, that I cant answer. They have to decide if they are going to work at it or not, they have to put the effort out. I put effort out every day and get rewarded for it. I realize, however, "if there is no effort, there is no reward". For these individuals, because they are so apathetic about everything, of course it wont work. They dont want to work. They are too indifferent.

If you find yourself with the above characteristics, and want to make a change do the following. Find something you have an interest in, that you are not indifferent to, and watch your emotions soar. I am not telling you to quit your job, unless you really want to or need to. Look at your job in a different light or look for something you would like to do, and research it. Find out how you can start it in your spare time, or part time, and build it up so you can get out of where you are. Once you do that youll have a new purpose for yourself. Put all of yourself into it, heart and soul.

Dont let apathy make you say, "Im not good at anything", "I dont know what I want to do", etc. These kind of statements are just perpetuating your apathetic behavior.

If it is not your job that is making you apathetic, take a good hard look at yourself, and be honest so you can find out what it is and do something about it. Sometimes it is as easy as finding a new hobby, or doing something special for yourself - dinner, a movie, walking, whatever, will make an enormous difference. If that doesnt help, go talk to someone on a professional level, but do something to remove the apathetic behavior, and I dont mean by using "pretend interest".

As Nike is so fond of saying, "Just Do It!"

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises