No matter how successful you are, at one time or another, you’ll fall into the self-sabotage trap…which we all fall victim to at some point on our journey. While this is common among most, we actually end up paying higher-than-necessary penalties if left unchecked. As a result, we’ll likely experience one or more of the following:
- Decrease in income
- Decrease in self-esteem
- Decrease in confidence
- Decrease in impact
The end result?
Frustration. Burnout. Resentment.
This downward spiral can quickly turn devastating, but stopping it is easy when you learn to recognize the symptoms.
If you find yourself struggling to meet your goals or achieve the level of success you desire, you may be under the influence of two major self-sabotaging behaviors; procrastination, and lack of follow-through.
The good news is however, there are ways to identify and then rectify any damage caused by these two culprits.
Let's take a look at the first self-sabotaging behavior, procrastination.
While some may equate procrastination with laziness the truth is, this behavior typically shows up in situations where we are either afraid, or simply not sure how to move forward.
Related: 5 Ways To Boost Your Confidence
For example, waiting until the last minute to register for a course or coaching program, allowing yourself to get distracted when it’s time to work on a major project or send a proposal to a potential new client (been there a couple times).
Or maybe you simply waited too long to take advantage of a sale price on a new software or development workshop.
These and other missed opportunities can often be blamed on simple procrastination, one of the most destructive habits we suffer from.
Procrastination is what keeps us working late at night to make a deadline, costs us money in late fees, and even costs us opportunities to grow our income.
If you’re prone to procrastination, try these techniques to put an end to it:
1. Recognize your fear! What often keeps us stuck in fear.
- We’re afraid that even with that amazing coach we still won’t reach our goals, so we put off applying.
- We’re afraid we’ll get told “no” if we ask for a raise, so we convince ourselves it isn’t worth it.
- We’re afraid we’ll look bad when compared to other proposals, so we just don’t send one.
But the truth is, if you want to be successful in any area of your life, you must learn to recognize and face your fears, then do the work anyway.
2. Visualize the life, career, or business you desire.
Imagine what it will be like to have that amazing new role or business you’ve been dreaming about.
Picture your ideal workday, daydream about that fabulous vacation you’ll take, and imagine what days will look like when you are working in your purpose or with your ideal client.
3. Reward yourself.
Give yourself a little incentive for getting things done.
Do what’s most likely to motivate you to power through your fears and take the next step.
The second self-sabotaging behavior is Lack of Follow-through
Let’s be honest for moment…
How many partially planned programs, project outlines, unfinished products, and half-written books are cluttering up your hard drive right now?
If you’re like most visionaries, the answer is probably several.
You started all of them with great enthusiasm. You created the slide decks, planned out the modules or chapters, and maybe even outlined the proposal…and then you just stopped working on it.
Maybe you told yourself that you’re too busy, or maybe that you “need to do some more research.” Maybe you simply lost interest.
But the truth is, none of those is the real reason. For many, this self-sabotaging habit is actually a symptom of a lack of confidence, and it’s keeping you from the success you deserve.
Rather than filling your hard drive with half-finished projects, why not power through and start releasing them…even if you believe they’re not perfect, and even if you think they’ll never gain traction or achieve the desired results?
At the end of the day, how can you possibly know the actual success rate of a project you’ve never finished? How will determine what/where improvements need to be made on something you’ve never completed?
The journey to success is rarely perfect. In fact, it is usually the “failures” and missteps that are used to guide to our destination.
So, dust off those old plans, pull up those proposals, revisit those plans and challenge yourself to finish what you started.
