Life as it is can be extremely difficult. For some of us it is even so much more difficult because we fall into the very bad habit of self-sabotaging.
This habit is one where we basically are being our own enemies and doing things that prevent ourselves from being happy, healthy and successful.
Not Having A Plan
A life plan is literally a blueprint to life. Without one you leave yourself vulnerable to anything happening. We have all heard the saying before, “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail”.
It is important to have a plan for every stage of life. While we all know that things will not always go to plan, it is better to be prepared than to not have a clue what your next move will be.
Many people begin to formulate their life plan when they close to the end of their high school career. They decide what career path they want to pursue, what college they want to go to, where they want to live among other things.
Not having a life plan is one self-sabotaging habit that you have to stop. It sets you up for failure and only helps you to miss out on any opportunities that would have come your way.
Succumbing To Fear & Anxiety
Succumbing to fear and anxiety can really affect the way that you live your life and count as self-sabotaging.
We all have moments where we will experience some kind of fear and anxiety. The issue is not experiencing these emotions. The real issue comes when we stop living as a result of them.
When we allow fear and anxiety to stop us from doing what we need to like work, school or enjoying different experiences with friends and family we end up losing. You will avoid or shy away from things that can benefit you because you are afraid.
For example, imagine that you have been offered a new job where the salary and benefits are amazing. Totally your dream job.
The only issue for you is that it is halfway around the world and you have so many different fears about moving away from home, so you decline. Right then and there you have held yourself back because of your fears.
If you begin to experience these emotions the best thing to do is to seek professional help. Getting a therapist who is able to properly diagnose and medicate your specific mental illness will be extremely beneficial to you.
Being Too Self Centered
If you were to talk about ways you could self-sabotage off the top of your head, self-centeredness would probably not be on this list of things that you would mention.
Being self-centered means that you are so caught up with yourself that you completely dismiss or ignore the people around you. Nobody likes being associated with somebody who is self-centered.
It does not matter how good you are at a particular thing or how qualified you are for it, if people do not enjoy being around you, they will not offer you opportunities. It is important that people enjoy your company, that is the only way that they will want to work with you and offer you opportunities that will be good for you.
Overreaching
Overreaching is a self-sabotaging habit where we get so wrapped up in so many tasks that we kind of lose ourselves behind them all. A lot of times these tasks have absolutely nothing to benefit the life goals that we are working towards.
When you spread yourself too thin, especially with things that are not a part of your overall plan, you become easily exhausted and experience burn out. When this happens it makes it hard for you to really focus on the tasks that will propel your life in the way that you have planned for it to go.
For example, if your life goal is to be a musician, it makes little to no sense at all to spend your time working part time as a mechanic or a technician among other odd jobs.
Any discipline or career path of life goal that you have planned for will require you to be disciplined, focused and dedicated. When you overreach and over extend yourself you cause yourself to compromise on the actions needed to make your goal a success.
Overspending & Spending Carelessly
It is fair to say that money makes the world go round. Living without money can be a very miserable and uncomfortable thing.
Money management is one of those things in life that can either make you or break you. Oftentimes the amount of money you get on your paycheck at the end of a pay period is not the issue but it is the way that you manage your money.
Many financial gurus have spoken about this and have pointed out how detrimental overspending or careless spending are to your financial stability and furthermore your life.
A person can make less money than an overspender but still be more financially stable because they are a good money manager. Overspending causes you to buy unnecessary things which will affect your savings as well as actually purchasing the things that you need.
Being Misinformed and/or Uninformed
You have heard the saying “ignorance is bliss”, but that is not most times the case. The truth is that not knowing puts you at such a disadvantage.
Growing up we have always heard that knowledge is power and that is the truth. When you are well informed you have the power to make the best decisions for your life, while the opposite sets you up for failure which is self-sabotaging 101.
When you have a plan for your life, it helps when you are well informed about what steps you will need to take to achieve the goal that you have set for yourself. If you do not know what to do or where to go next you end up being stuck, or making the wrong decision.
For example, if it is very important for somebody who is looking to start a new career or moving to a new city to be as informed as possible. If you are not well informed about a job that you are interested in, no one would want to hire you because they would not be able to trust you with their business.
If you are moving to a new city imagine the problems that you would run into if you did not do your research and were well informed about that city.
In a world where information is literally at your fingertips, it comes across as shortsighted and unprepared if you show up misinformed or uninformed about key things.
Reacting To Everything
When you have a reaction for everything it is considered self-sabotaging because in most if not all cases you are creating additional stresses for yourself.
Not everything deserves your reactions or for you to put so much energy in being concerned about them. It is important to access the things that you allow to become a bother to you.
If you fall into the habit of reacting to everything then you miss out on the chance to be truly happy and healthy. Being concerned or aggravated by every issue only adds to your stress level and is certainly not enjoyable for anyone.
Having this habit also causes you to be labelled as the problem person in a friend group or family. The person who has an issue or reacts to everything. As you can imagine, no one jumps at the chance to be associated with a person like that.
Associating With The Wrong Crowd
Being in a community or friend group is a very important human desire. Your friend group has the potential to really build you up and help you to become a better version of yourself and that is amazing.
However, being a part of the wrong community is definitely a disservice to yourself. Unfortunately, not all circles or crowds are good ones, and instead of your friend group helping you to flourish it instead hinders your opportunities in society.
The people you associate with will overtime become a representation of who you are. Again, another old saying that we have all heard at some point, “ show me your company and I will tell you who you are”. To this day this saying remains true.
Personal branding is very important in this day, both personal or professional. Your academic credentials are not the only things that will make you marketable.
The company you surround yourself with will also play a part in determining what opportunities are offered to you. So it serves you well to choose wisely.
Final Comments
Self-sabotaging habits are things that we all do at some point without even realizing. These habits show up in our day to day lives and can go unnoticed. Things like overreaching, overspending, being self-centered are just a few of those things.
Do not get stuck with these habits because they hold you back from propelling towards greatness in every area of your life. So, recognize them and break those habits.