Your enemy is in the mirror

You sort the canned goods by type and alphabetically by brand and then proceed to organize the boxed foods. You’ll pull lint off the old Christmas sweaters you haven’t worn since 1989 as long as you avoid the very task that got you out of bed early — studying for the state licensing exam that enables you to become a business owner rather than an employee.

Why do you sabotage your dreams?

1 – Do you self-sabotage because of a fear of failure?

You may fail, but so what? You’ll learn more lessons from trying and failing than from binging Netflix. And don’t lose sleep over people mocking your failure. Their ridicule is a cover for envy. They’d love to have your courage.

If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate. — Thomas J. Watson, the former chairman and CEO of IBM

If failure is not an option, then neither is success. — Seth Godin

2 – Do you self-sabotage because of the comparison game?

Someone has 17.5k followers and posts once a week about their multimillion-dollar income streams. Yay, for them! Someone else works two jobs and still can’t afford pork & beans, but they’re trying to launch a fledgling side hustle. One makes you feel like crap, and the other, Entrepreneur of the Year. Focusing on either doesn’t help you at all.

Set goals and concentrate on your journey, not someone else’s.

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. — Galatians 6:4–5

3 – Do you self-sabotage because of perfectionism?

You never launch or produce anything because it’s never good enough.

Says who?

You’ll never reach perfection until you get feedback from your customers. You can’t get feedback from your customers until you launch. Then you can iterate to perfection.

Perfectionism is not only siphoning your passion; it’s also driving everyone nuts within a 5-mile radius of you.

Waiting for perfect is never as smart as making progress. ― Seth Godin

4 – Do you self-sabotage because of negative self-talk?

Read Tim Denning’s article, Delusional Optimism Is the Central Habit of Highly Successful People. The article nails the attitude that entrepreneurs must have to succeed. He asks,

If you don’t back yourself 100%, who will?

The answer is no one.

Your mother may believe in you more than you do, but the world isn’t waiting for her to release your great idea. Trust yourself. Say positive things to yourself. Make up great things to say to yourself. They may come true one day, but for now, delusional optimism is what the doctor orders.

5 – Do you self-sabotage because of a lack of discipline?

Gorilla Freak wasn’t born with that body and didn’t develop it by working out only when he felt like it. He earned that body every single time he went to the gym, including the days he felt like crap.

Pastor Charles Stanley said,

Discipline determines your destiny.

Your dreams depend upon your discipline. Create a daily routine or schedule, and stick to it. Set clear goals and break them down into smaller, achievable steps. Celebrate your wins, even the smallest ones, because self-discipline is hard — just ask the 44% of middle-aged Americans who are obese.

So go out there, light a fire inside of you, deploy relentless creativity, and show everybody what’s possible with delusional optimism. Because the alternative is pessimism, and that’ll destroy your life, leave you depressed, and make you live a life full of regrets. — Tim Denning

Summing it up

Self-sabotage is a poison preventing you from achieving your goals and living a great life. Start identifying the causes of self-sabotage and develop strategies to overcome them. Let go of your fear of failure, don’t compare yourself to others, push away perfectionism, be kind to yourself, and develop self-discipline.

How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable? — Seth Godin

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