What is Self-Sabotage and How to Overcome It

Self sabotage is a behavior that undermines success despite one's own desires, dreams or values. Learn how to identify the underlying cause of this behavior and how to overcome it.

What is Self-Sabotage and How to Overcome It

Self-sabotage is a behavior that undermines your success despite your own desires, dreams, or values. It is often caused by low self-esteem, negative self-talk, and related negative emotions, which are continually reinforced by the resulting failure. People may find themselves actively or passively taking action to prevent them from reaching their goals, and this behavior can affect almost every aspect of their lives. Self-sabotage is a frustrating cycle of behavior that reduces self-confidence and makes people feel trapped. The most common self-sabotage behaviors include procrastination, self-medication with drugs or alcohol, comfort eating, and forms of self-harm such as cutting.

These behaviors are said to be self-sabotaging when they create problems in daily life and interfere with long-standing goals. The root cause of this behavior is often a lack of faith in oneself and faulty conditioning of the subconscious mind. If you recognize yourself in this description, it's important to understand that you can overcome self-sabotage. The first step is to identify the underlying cause of your behavior. Once you understand why you are engaging in self-sabotaging behavior, you can start to make changes.

This may involve challenging negative thoughts and beliefs, developing healthier coping strategies, and learning how to be kinder to yourself. It's also important to set realistic goals and break them down into smaller steps. This will help you stay motivated and focused on achieving your goals. Finally, it's important to practice self-care and build a strong support system of friends and family who can help you stay on track.

Colin Lear
Colin Lear

Hipster-friendly coffee lover. Professional bacon scholar. Infuriatingly humble music practitioner. Proud pop culture junkie. Proud travel fanatic.