There’s a lot of truth to the quote, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We get in our own way far more than life, other people, or bad luck sabotage our success. We really are our own worst enemy. In my life I have been a serial self- sabotager (is that even a word?) This is something I had to recognize and implement significant steps to begin to overcome (I’m still working on this) Because friends, you will be amazed by how much easier your life will be if you aren’t constantly sabotaging your success.
When you think about it, it’s mind-blowing that we allow ourselves to stand in our own way, but we do. Understanding that fact is half the battle to overcoming it.
Here are 7 techniques to help you stop sabotaging yourself:
Pray And Let go of the past. Mistakes from the past don’t mean that you’re doomed to failure in the future (Read that again!) So now your past at the most should be used as educational material, as a growth and learning opportunity, NOT as a predictor of your future. Leave your past in the past and look to the one who can help you create the future you desire.
Avoid Negative Self-Talk: Don’t talk to yourself unless you’re going to say something nice. If You spend too much time saying negative things to yourself, eventually, you begin to believe them. That kind of constant negative input gives you an incorrect view of yourself and your capabilities and keeps you stagnant, never making any moves to better your life. Ensure that your self-talk is supportive, uplifting and positive. Positive affirmations are a great way to remedy those negative thoughts that like to come around. There is so much power in your words!
Notice your habits that sabotage your success. Think about what you want to be successful at and notice your habits that stand in your way. For example, if you want to lose weight, but you eat a bag of chips every time you're stressed girl, that habit is sabotaging your success.
Make a list of all the habits that sabotage your success. Write down all the ways in which those habits inhibit your success. What is the cost of each of those habits? Being aware of the damage these habits cause can make it easier to change them.
Define your fear. This is what changed the game for me. All self-sabotage is rooted in fear. So, what exactly are you afraid of? Are you afraid of embarrassing yourself? Are you afraid of finding out that you're not capable? Are you afraid of success? Are you afraid of how people will view you?
Understand the basic fear that is causing you to sabotage yourself. Unless you can either get over that fear or remove it, you'll continue to get in your own way.
Remember that success isn’t perfect. Sometimes we quit because things aren’t turning out the way we imagined. Setting more reasonable expectations can help ensure that you’re seeing things through to the end. Nothing in life is ever perfect.
Identify and change your beliefs. What are the beliefs that stand in your way? For example, do you believe that you can never be a successful writer because you failed high school English? Do you believe you can’t start or own a business or be an entrepreneur because you didn’t go to business school?
Look at all of your beliefs related to the part of your life you want to be more successful in. Which of those beliefs are getting in your way?
Notice the people that get in your way. Sometimes, we allow people into our lives that don't really want the best for us. You'll find that few people are truly interested in seeing you live up to your full potential.
Avoid believing that it’s acceptable to allow someone to get in your way. If they choose to be an obstacle, consider removing them from your life.
The good news is that easier to control yourself than it is to control others or circumstances outside of yourself. Since you are the source of your challenges, you also have the power to eliminate them. Never underestimate how much you’re standing in your own way!
I hope these techniques help you begin to Get Out Of Your Own Way! You deserve to be successful in life don’t ever believe less.
