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Alan knows that it is very good for his career to do X, and he knows that he actually is able to do X. Nevertheless Alan does not do X. It might be for a lot of reason why Alan does not do X; maybe he is not motivated enough, or a lazy person, for example. But there in English is, or I think must be, a negative word (adjective), for persons, such as Alan, who do not so firmly try to gain their benefits. What is the word?

Example: She wanted to get the licence and she knew she should read this books to get the licence, but she didn't. I guess she is ...

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  • you have given a number of reasons and the reasons in a large part define the nature of the 'inaction' . You mentioned : not motivated enough, or a lazy person - I could also say "shy" or "timid" or "unassertive" or "unambitious" or "cowardly" or "afraid" – Tom22 Apr 22 '18 at 20:33
  • Neutral ways that do not suggest a "why" could be: "she is not going to try" ... while "not trying" does not suggest 'completely able' to do, but it does at least suggest 'could likely able to do' . "she is not going to take action" or "not going to do anything" might others suggesting more that there are clear attainable steps. – Tom22 Apr 22 '18 at 20:40
  • Every word I can think of here carries a value judgement or an implied reason: "unambitious", "passive", etc. – N. Post Apr 23 '18 at 4:26
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I think you have described a nihilist, however I think the reason for the inaction would need to be known to be sure. It is also close to defeatism, but not close enough.

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