Are you worried that you are sabotaging your success? Maybe someone has mentioned to you that you are sabotaging your success and you didn’t know what they meant. Or maybe you are aware that you aren’t achieving the success you desire and are concerned you might be self-sabotaging your success without realising. Keep on reading as I’ll be sharing 5 signs that you are sabotaging your success.
What is self-sabotage?
Self-sabotage is where an individual has certain behaviours or does certain actions that work against their goals. Essentially self-sabotage is where you are holding yourself back from achieving your version of success.
Why do we sabotage our success?
You might have read that description of self-sabotage and thought to yourself “Why would anyone sabotage their success?”. The fact is that even though you might feel as if you are wholeheartedly committed to achieving your version of success the likelihood is there is some fear around achieving that version of success. It is the fear of success that results in most people performing self-sabotaging actions.
5 SIGNS THAT YOU ARE SABOTAGING YOUR SUCCESS
1. Procrastinating
Is there something on your to-do list that has been there for ages? If so, be really honest and ask yourself “What would happen if I completed this task?”. A very common way for people to sabotage their success is to put off the needle-moving actions they need to take. Maybe you dream of being an author but haven’t sent your book proposal out or maybe you want a promotion at work but you keep on pushing your annual review back. If there is something you have been putting off for a while, then more likely than not there is a specific reason why and very often it is an act of self-sabotage.
2. Negative self-talk
Does an opportunity come your way and instantly the voices inside your head start to talk? Our inner critic has a lot of answer for an often is at the centre of negative self-talk. Some examples of negative self-talk are:
- You are not good enough
- You are not worthy
- You will make a fool of yourself
- You can’t do it
- People won’t like you
As mentioned earlier most self-sabotage happens because we are trying to protect ourselves. The self-talk isn’t trying to put us down just for fun, but protect us. However, in order to move forward, you need to realise the purpose of the negative self-talk and not let it impact your behaviour.
3. Perfectionism
Are you not putting something into the world (or in front of other people) because it isn’t as good as you would like it yet? Perfectionism can be used in order to procrastinate (it isn’t good enough yet) or it can totally stop you from taking action. It is important to have high standards and I would never want to encourage you to be substandard with the work you do. However, there is a big difference between having high standards and aiming for perfection. Perfect doesn’t exist and is usually an excuse for you to put something off.
4. Not investing in the necessary
Is there a financial investment that you need to make that would make a major difference in your success? Maybe there is a piece of equipment that will improve the efficiency of your work, a course that will teach you a necessary skill to improve your work or a coach to hold you accountable. It is easy to make the excuse that you don’t have enough money. Sometimes you really might not be in the situation to invest, but often people make the excuse of not having enough money because it is an easy excuse to get them off the hook of doing the things that will take them to the next level.
5. Not investing in the necessary
Another way to sabotage yourself is to not take care of yourself. You only get one body and if you don’t look after it then usually it will stop performing at its best. You’ll get ill and have an excuse to not be able to take the actions you know will lead to you being successful. This form of sabotage can be very subtle. Even making excuses around not being able to eat properly / work out / get enough sleep because you are busy working can be a form of self-sabotage. Realistically you know behaving in this way will be detrimental and in the end, your body will shut down.
There you have it. You now know 5 different signs that you are sabotaging your success.
The best way to minimise sabotaging your success is facing your fears around success head-on. The more you avoid your fears around success the more likely you are to continue with your self-sabotaging behaviour. Address your success fears head-on and start to sabotage your success less and less.
In the comments, I would love to know how you’ve sabotaged your success in the past.
