How To Overcome Self-Sabotage?!
- mp50081
- Mar 18, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 19, 2024
What does it mean to self-sabotage? Is it self-defeating as well as self-destructive behavior? Does self-sabotage keep you from moving forward? How do you overcome self-sabotage?!
What Is Self-Sabotage?
Self-sabotage refers to being your own worst enemy. It refers to behaviors as well as thought patterns that hold you back. As a result, self-sabotage prevents you from achieving your goals.
Behaviors are self-sabotaging when they create problems in your daily life. There are many reasons why self-sabotage can stand in your way.
Let’s explore those reasons!
Reasons For Self-Sabotage
One key reason why you self-sabotage is lack of self-esteem. It results in thoughts and feelings that cause gloom-ridden self-talk, which triggers self-sabotaging behaviors.
Another reason for self-sabotage is wanting to feel safe and in control.
For example, you might be working at a job you hate. It might feel boring and dead end, but you stay at this job because it makes you feel safe. As a result, you miss out on opportunities to advance your career.
Both of these examples are reasons why overcoming self-sabotage is hard!
Self-Sabotage Can Be A Symptom Of A Bigger Problem
Self-sabotage can be a symptom of a bigger problem. It can be part of a repetitive cycle of impulsive thinking triggered by anxiety and depression.
If you have PTSD or even impulsive personality traits, you’re at risk for self-sabotage. For example, it’s triggered by anxiety brought on by past trauma from childhood. Also, veterans who have been exposed to trauma might be prone to self-sabotaging behaviors.
Self-sabotage can be a symptom of bipolar disorder. It triggers mood episodes that cause you to act recklessly. For example, bipolar disorder can lead to relationship problems and cause you to make bad decisions.
Types Of Behaviors
There are many types of self-sabotaging behaviors that are hard to overcome.
Behaviors Include:
Perfectionism:
When you’re a perfectionist, you want to complete a task flawlessly. It can be a good trait to have, but being a perfectionist has its problems.
Common problems faced by perfectionists include negative self-talk, avoidance as well as anxiety. As a result, you feel stuck or you’re back to square one.
Here’s a related post: “Can Feeling Stuck Be A Mindset”
Putting Things Off:
When you put things off, you’re avoiding a task that needs to be done. Here’s an example, you have a week to complete a task but you end up putting it off until last minute. As a result, you’ll end up rushing to complete it before it’s due.
Putting things off is a harmless habit for most people, but it can be a sign of a bigger problem for others.
It can be a sign of depression as well as a sense of inadequacy. Also, putting things off can be a sign of low self-esteem as well as a lack of confidence, which leads to self-sabotage.
Finally, putting things off might be sign that you have a fear of failure.
Having An Anxious Attachment Style:
Self-sabotage can happen in a healthy relationship when you have an anxious attachment style.
Childhood trauma can result in an anxious attachment style. As a result, it causes you to feel insecure in relationships as an adult. It can lead to negative thinking that leads to mistrust as well as jealousy.
Work And Finances:
Self-sabotage can affect you at work. It can be triggered by negative self-talk, for example you might have a false belief that you’re no good and that you don’t deserve better.
Sometimes self-sabotage is caused by social anxiety, which results in the fear of being judged. As a result, it might make it hard to overcome your fear of asking big questions at work. Also, you might be afraid to ask big questions that affect your finances.
How To Overcome Self-Sabotage?!
Learning how to overcome self-sabotage is more simple than you think. Here are some tips below!
Tips For Overcoming Self-Sabotage Include:
Identify What Triggers Self-Sabotaging Behavior:
It seems that self-sabotage comes out of nowhere. In reality it’s tied into how you see or perceive yourself. For example, how you see yourself might be shaped by adversity in the present moment or in the past.
Let’s say you’re affected by mental health adversity or it affected you in the past, it can affect how you see yourself now.
If you have or had problems with PTSD, you may feel insecure and anxious. As a result, you may feel uncomfortable to be around other people and end up self-sabotaging relationships.
Once you recognize what’s causing self-sabotaging behavior, it helps to identify it and let it go.
Learn New Habits:
It’s possible to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors by changing old habits.
When you change your bad habit of putting off tasks and replace it with better time management, you’ll notice a change. The old habit may have triggered anxiety, but when it’s changed you may notice that you’re calmer.
Here’s a related post: “Habits That Lead To Success”
Don’t Compare Yourself To Others:
Comparing yourself to others is already a recipe for unhappiness. It breeds feelings of envy, low self-esteem as well as depression.
In order to overcome this toxic self defeating behavior, it helps to learn how to embrace what makes you awesome. Also, it helps to complement others when they’re doing good, instead of acting jealous and comparing yourself. You’ll learn that you’re no longer your own worst jealous enemy.
Make Small Meaningful Changes:
It’s vital to tackle and change bad behaviors if you want to move forward.
Remember, that you can’t change all self defeating behaviors at once in the beginning. If you try to change too much at once, you might give up too soon and start the self-sabotage cycle all over again.
Learning how to break this cycle is key to no longer being your worst enemy.
Have You Dealt With Self-Sabotage?
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