You know what you’re supposed to do right? But sometimes a little voice whispers (or shouts) in your ear “I don’t give a sh*t”, and you pick up that cookie or 2 or some chips and after a little while the bag is empty and you look around to see there’s no one to blame.
Oftentimes this happens just as you’re on a successful weight loss streak or after someone pays you a lovely compliment. Other times it happens when you are angry or upset and want to make someone “pay” – unfortunately, that someone turns out to be you. This, my friend, is called self-sabotage.
According to Psychology Today, self-sabotaging behavior is said to be, “behavior which creates problems and interferes with long-standing goals.” Moreover, in The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks describes self-sabotage as an upper limit problem”, a self-imposed glass ceiling of how happy or successful you allow yourself to be.
One of the best ways to overcome self-sabotage, including negative self-talk, is to work with a coach. As a Health Coach, my role is to work with my clients as an accountability partner, mentor and guide-on-the-side to help them achieve their health and wellness goals. We work together developing tools to deal with obstacles and challenges that get in their way.
It is helpful to think in terms of the Golden Rule but instead say, we should treat ourselves the way we would treat others. I know I would never be as critical to a friend as I am to myself. We can be our own worst enemy or our own best friend, it’s our choice.
Try an exercise today where you look in the mirror and give yourself a compliment. Maybe your hair looks especially great today. Do you like the way you applied your makeup? Does that suit make you look tall and distinguished? Pick something and acknowledge it. Even if it feels silly the simple act may have a very positive effect on the rest of your day!
