How and why people sabotage themselves
Is there always a roadblock to your goals? That “something” may be you? All of us sabotage ourselves sometimes. Persistent self-sabotage can lead to challenges in various areas of life, such as family, school, work, and relationships.
Self-sabotaging behaviours are thoughts and actions that set up barriers to our aims, frequently without our awareness. In reality, self-sabotage is a protection mechanism designed by our subconscious minds to safeguard us from harm.
This mechanism seeks to keep us safe and familiar. Even if we're doing fine, jumping into unfamiliar waters sets off alarm bells in our heads and our brains tell us to return to familiar seas.
Postponing tasks
Responsibility you “forgot” or intentionally ignored
Refusing pledges and commitments
Poor job and task preparation
Your actions contradict your desires.
Lateness for crucial meetings or appointments
Use of drugs or alcohol
To quit easily when things grow tough
Some self-sabotaging behaviours:
You partied with friends the night before despite having crucial job to do the next morning.
You routinely fail examinations in your parents-paid university education due to insufficient preparation.
You want to get married and have a lovely family, but you attract unsuitable people.
If you question yourself, think you're not talented enough, think you don't deserve your success, or think you got where you are by coincidence, you may self-sabotage. This may be how you sabotage successes you don't deserve or can't internalise. Since you never deserved to be here.
Indecisiveness, or confused sentiments regarding someone or something, makes you unsure of your next step. You may think your situation is dire and that all solutions are bad. When you sabotage yourself, you may unknowingly return.
Thus, you may believe you will not have to make this difficult choice again. We hope you now understand your complaints like “Why am I always standing still?” “I turn down all opportunities. Why am I like this?
Yes, many people sabotage themselves to avoid success. This may seem odd, but people who are terrified of the responsibility and risk of achievement may sabotage their own success by staying in their comfort zone. Click for our “Why Are We Afraid of Success?” article.
Self-sabotage to avoid others' expectations and judgements is widespread. If they fail to reach their goals, some people subconsciously dread rejection or embarrassment from friends and family. This might cause a person to “stagnate” by avoiding new possibilities, change, and growth.
You may also be sabotaging yourself because you're terrified of failing at your goals, trying new things, and being disappointed, which you think will be very damaging. We have a famous example: Cheated-on people mistrust future relationships and withdraw.
However, we know he is unhappy where he withdraws, right? This person prefers old sufferings to new dangers and possibly bliss.