Self-Sabotage Pt. 1 | WBT September 26, 2021

WBT (We’ve Been Thinking) is our weekly mini virtual “soul-therapy” sesh sent straight to your inbox every Sunday Morning, in which we cover a range of topics and give you actionable tips and tools that you can start applying today to raise your vibe and feel amazing. All in a less than 3-minute read. Interested in getting yours every Sunday? Sign up for our weekly newsletter below!

WBT… About self-sabotage.

We’re a little more than three weeks into September and many of us started this month with some firm plans to get sh*t done. Remember that soulful summer? It was divine but we said that once September came, we’d start working a little more on our doing since we’d already aced just being.

If you’re like so many of us, you started down the path of taking that action, of doing those things, of getting going on making it happen. But then something happened and, sadly, it wasn’t that you actually did, or achieved, what you intended. 

For many of us what happened was that we got to the same place we end up so often when we decide to do the things that can change our life, or at least our current state of being. That place is where our intentions fail us and we start to realize that we might be part of the problem. Have you ever been to that place? Ya, me too.

We used to be told that this reflexive action was fear of success - that deep down you believed you didn’t deserve it or that it would make you shine too much brighter than others or that you feared losing the familiar. The more modern view is that self-sabotage is almost always actually a fear of failure. So if we don’t do the things to get what we really want, we know we won’t get them, but we won’t have failed either.

How do you know if you’re getting in your own way? There are so many ways that we self-sabotage but here are five very common ones. Do any of these sound familiar?

1. You’re a master procrastinator

2. You say no to new opportunities

3. You lose time and focus because of bad habits

4. You listen to your inner critic - the voice that tells you that you can’t

5. You get caught up in negativity and drama

 I’m sure we can all relate to at least one or two of those. If that’s you, it’s time to grab a journal. Ask yourself:

1. At what point on my path to achieving something, do I start to sabotage myself?

2. What are my favorite self-sabotaging strategies?

3. Why do I do it? Is it fear of failure, fear of success or am I actually going after something that I don’t really (deep down, if I’m being honest with myself) want?

4. Whatever the reason, what do I think is behind that for me? 

When you start to understand this, you can figure out what to do about it. That’s where the magic happens.