13 May Recognizing and Resisting Self-Sabotaging Behaviors
We all want the best for ourselves. From the best job to the best lifestyle and the best relationships. However, often, what stands between our current reality and our potential best selves, isn’t other people, or circumstances, but our own behaviors, habits, and choices. The self-sabotaging tendencies and habits that we revert to when under pressure are things that we can recognize, anticipate, and avoid. Once we acknowledge our faults, we can work on them and learn from them.
An Honest Inner Dialogue
Change starts with acknowledging the behaviors that are keeping us from our goals, whether we want to get up early, but we keep hitting the snooze button or we want to rest but keep overloading our schedules. These small, yet unproductive habits add up as stressors in our lives that we can avoid with self-awareness, discipline, and the right support system.
The Fear of Success
We should be asking ourselves “What is causing me to self-sabotage even though I want to succeed?” We are often more scared of success than we are of failure, or never trying at all. Success would lead to so many unknowns, and sometimes we are unconsciously terrified of what that could mean for us. To find what causes our negative habits, we can start by journaling our answers to these questions, and then ask ourselves if this is something we are procrastinating on or avoiding because we’re scared of success or if it’s something we genuinely don’t want in our lives.
Course-Correcting from Self-Sabotage
When we recognize our behaviors, and the motivation behind them, we can bring ourselves back into focusing on our goals and reaching for our ideal lives, but how do we accomplish this? Here are a few ways for us to push through and do our best, rather than reverting to old habits:
- Establish a reward system: Snacks, gifts, or rest breaks are great rewards when we’ve accomplished our goals and pushed past our self-sabotaging instincts.
- Set a timer or deadline: Having to accomplish a task within a set time frame is a great way to meet your goals by allowing no room for procrastination, only for productivity.
- Find an accountability buddy: Having outside accountability can deeply improve our ability to resist self-sabotage through sharing responsibility, enforcing check-ins, and opening yourself up to help from others.
Building a Support System
The best way to avoid self-sabotaging is to reach out for help and build a support system that will call you out when you’re falling into bad habits. Sometimes we self-sabotage by self-isolating. Your family and friends can make all the difference in your life when you ask for help.
HERStory is an amazing support system that is here for you to reach out and find a community of women who are excited to empower and uplift each other on our personal and professional journeys!
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