Self sabotage. Who’s done it in the past?

Ok, everybody raise your hand.

I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t self sabotaged at least a couple times to date. (If you’re the unicorn reading this who hasn’t, please send me an email so we can talk about your secret to life.)

Over the past several weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with several talented and passionate women entrepreneurs. All movers and shakers developing their next programs, new technologies, and leading the edge of embodying the best of female entrepreneurship.

Throughout my conversations, I noticed an interesting pattern of self sabotage. 

One woman and I talked about an upcoming program she’s creating. She asked if she could run a bunch of topics by me to see if they would be useful to learn about. Blogging… writing newsletters… coming up with content…

As she’s rattling this list off, all the topics make sense, but I don’t feel any energy coming from her. It’s all falling, well, flat. Deflated.

I cut in and ask a question about what she really likes to do.

“I love to delight customers.”

BOOM.

There’s the energy. And what an amazing super power that is. Delighting customers?! Who doesn’t want to be able to delight customers. She’s naturally good at it and loves to do it. AND she can teach that to others.

You know what delighting customers means? Happy customers. Customers who receive what they need. Customers who feel seen. Customers who feel appreciated. And do you know what that means? Better referrals. Customers who will come back for more. Better relationships. More fun.

Would that be valuable for your business? You bet.


For each one of these women I spoke with, the idea that had the most energy around it was the one that had already gotten tossed away.

“It’s been done before.”

“I’m not sure if people will get it.”

“But it’s kind of hokey.”

Those voices come up so quickly, so easily.

And then the idea that we’re really excited about gets pushed to the side. We’re afraid of what other people will think. Whether or not our idea will be received. The jewel of love, that seed of a flame gets blown out. By us. Because of perceived reactions and response by that chorus of negative voices in our heads.


Own what you love.

What has energy also has the ability to carry you forth in the direction you envision.

Are you aware of how you self sabotage? If not, take the time to watch how you work. How do you react when you get stuck? What happens when you’re faced with an uncomfortable situation?

For me, self sabotage comes up in a few predictable ways:

  • Allowing myself to get distracted by small tasks that don’t really matter.
  • Becoming overwhelmed and paralyzed by too many projects to the point where I no longer take action.
  • Social media distractions
  • Allowing the discomfort of the unknown and feeling unsure of myself prevent me from moving forward.

What are your predictable indicators of self sabotage? 

Bring more awareness to them, that way, you’ll know what’s happening when you find yourself doing that same thing again.

It’s one thing to be aware of these self sabotaging behaviors, it’s another to change them.


When you notice yourself doing any of your predictable self sabotaging patterns, how can you switch it up?

A few ways to move your energy:

  • Get up, walk around and don’t sit back down until you’ve formulated a clear mini-action plan about what you’ll be doing when you go back to your desk
  • Do a completely different activity for a few minutes – play brain games on Lumosity, color part of a mandala or watch the birds at the feeder – pick something you enjoy and allow yourself to be fully in it
  • Find a sunny spot to sit in an do a 3-5 minute breathing meditation to change the energy in your body and clear your head

When you hit a moment where you’re going into squirrel land (aka the land of self sabotage), reroute your energy, tune back into what you need and then move forward.

Let’s keep our eyes out for the obstacle of self sabotage on the path of life – avoid these obstacles when possible, but know how to get over them when need be.

They don’t need to take us down. The more aware we are that we’ll come into contact with them, the better equipped we’ll be when we do meet them in our travels.

Are you ready to have your business systems systems run more smoothly, with better organization, so you don't have to be "ON" all the time?

 

Let me show you the 9 proven systems that will allow you to have more energy, more clarity, and the ability to be on top of everything without having to be “on top of everything.”

 

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