Stop Sabotaging Yourself in 10 Easy Steps
An unusual behaviour wherein one creates problems for himself/herself or acts in a certain that way that causes harm to them or worse takes them further away from what they’re trying to achieve is known as self-sabotaging. It can be physical or mental damage. Clearly, it is something we need to get rid of as it doing no one any good. You need to put a stop to it, quit doing what you’re doing without any further delay.
“What is required for many of us, paradoxical though it may sound, is the courage to tolerate happiness without self-sabotage.”
― Nathaniel Branden
Here are some self-sabotaging habits that are commonly seen in people. Habits that are destroying you without you realizing that. You will become aware to what extent you are harming yourself.
1. Self-injury: when one cuts or physically hurts themselves, they may feel temporary relief but it does deep harm to them in the long-term. Such activities are addictive and are bound to be repeated. You may do so to take out frustration, to feel pain over the way you are feeling etc. Think again, is hurting yourself more than you are already hurt a wise choice?
2. Procrastination: Procrastination happens to be one of the worst self-sabotaging habits and yet is embraced by more than half of the people living in this world. Procrastination is when you avoid doing a task that has to be accomplished and instead engage yourself into something which is not as important but you’d rather do it than complete your task. How is anyone benefiting from this? This only arises guilt, anxiety and low self-esteem in your mind. You keep worrying about the job that has to be done however choose to ignore it anyway. Quit this as soon as possible and get done with what has to be done.
3. Think before you act: when you eat, speak or do anything mindlessly, you’re ruining yourself more than you can imagine. You are making decisions with an unconscious mind which is not letting you differentiate between the wrong and right. These decisions that you make may bring us happiness and save us from feeling loneliness but only for a short-term. Ultimately, you will regret some of the choices made by you which will only bring more pain.
4. Self-medication: Getting involved in drugs, consuming alcohol or taking pills can only doom you. Again, these things will only bring you comfort in that moment and will vandalize you in the future. These products are extremely addictive and can lure you in no time. You can hold in what you’re feeling and cover it up by consuming alcohol or drugs. However remember, sooner or later those suppressed feelings are bound to erupt and when they do, you will not make the right choices. Make your choices are wisely chosen so that you don’t have to regret them later.
5. Giving up: Humans tend to give up the moment they start doubting themselves. We quit so quickly, without even considering the downside of it. We feel we have failed and will never be successful again. Give it another try, give it a million tries. The only time you fail is when you choose to quit, not when you are unsuccessful in the first or third or tenth try. Believe in yourself, finish what you started.
6. Self-criticism: Whether you’re short, tall, healthy or skinny. You have short, long, curly or straight hair. You are studious, sporty or artistic. Don’t forget, you’re unique in yourself, there might be someone who is better than you and you might be better than someone else. No one gets to decide what is perfect; you give perfection your own definition. You have no reason to feel low about yourself, to hate yourself. Learn to appreciate yourself rather than feeling miserable about yourself.
7. Letting others opinions matter: Human nature compels you to quickly believe what the other is saying without considering whether it’s true or false. You do anything, people will judge, they will judge no matter what so why not do what makes you happy. Wear what you prefer, eat what you want to, act the way you want to, speak what you think is right, do not let others get into your brain. The worst thing you can do is getting influenced by one’s opinion; let them make choices for you. This will only demoralize you.
8. Self-isolation: You isolate yourself, refrain from talking to anybody, and refuse to eat anything, hold back all your feelings when you’re feeling low or frustrated. What you’re forgetting is that the only way to overcome this is to actually take it all out, if not to a person then to your dog perhaps or even the mirror. You might not be thinking with an open mind in that moment but it can be very dangerous to harm yourself through isolation.
9. Eating inadequately: Eating small amounts of food or not eating at all in order to lose weight is the worst thing you can do to your body. You may become skinny and lose weight but you’re not becoming healthy. It makes you feeble and unfit if there’s anything it makes you. You have to stop worrying about your physical beauty and concentrate on your internal body because that is what is going to matter in the long run. Don’t be foolish and make unwise decisions.
10. Sabotaging your sleep: Compromising on the number of hours you sleep and adopting an incorrect sleeping cycle can cause problems in your health more than you are aware of. Be it sleeping late to finish an assignment or bingeing on your TV show it is harmful in several ways. Your body needs 7 hours of sleep to work efficiently the next day. Every little thing you can imagine will improve if you give your body 7 hours of sleep. Sleep is as important as breathing oxygen or drinking water but we do not realize that easily.
Small actions you do, minute things you do can be self-sabotaging, so remember to think carefully before you make any decision. Don’t do anything to hurt yourself because no one is benefitting from that; you certainly are not, even if you think you are. Recognize these habits that are stopping you from reaching your goal and bring changes before it’s too late.
