3 Bad Habits to Break to Overcome Self-Sabotage

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Catherine Wood, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

“One reason people resist change is that they focus on what they have to give up, rather than what they have to GAIN.” –Rick Godwin

What goals have you set for yourself throughout your life? Weight loss goals, business goals, relationship goals, fitness goals, income goals, healthy eating goals, self-care goals? How many of these commitments have you seen through to the end?

Vacillating efforts and results are caused by bad habits that set us up for failure. Here are 3 of the most common self-sabotaging bad habits that will kill your results:

1. Wavering Commitment
It’s so easy to half-commit to our goals. We keep one foot in and one foot out the door because we are afraid of setting ourselves up for failure. Planning this escape route makes it easy to let go of our passion when we are not “feeling” it, and it allows us to use the excuse that “we weren’t really trying anyways” if we end up failing.

Allowing feelings to inform your decisions makes it easy to bow out when you step out of your comfort zone and realize how tough it’s going to be. Instant gratification does not exist on the road to success; often, we forget how horrible it will feel to go out on a limb and tackle areas in which we are not already experts.

Lack of commitment is rooted in fear. Fear of failure, fear of hard work, fear of not being good enough, fear of “looking like you’re trying,” etc. Fear is just a feeling, and it is constantly working to keep you exactly where you are. Fear operates as a defense mechanism and also produces many crippling excuses for not moving forward.

2. Time
A common excuse that keeps us from investing in ourselves is a perceived lack of time. “When this happens, I’ll…” or “I was about to start, but then ____ came up and I didn’t have time,” etc. If this is happening in one part of your life, it’s probably happening in multiple parts, so you’re likely making excuses that keep you from getting many things that you want.

In reality, it’s not about having the time to do something. It’s about caring enough to MAKE the time in your life. You have control. Managing time is all about where you put your energy and focus, so set those priorities and block out your time to focus on what will truly move your goals forward.

3. Money
Another excuse that we use to avoid investing in ourselves is lack of—or refusal to let go of—money. It starts with the “WHY?” Why are you committed to what you want outside of it being for the money? Is it for financial freedom? For joy? For connection? For happiness? You need to align your over-arching commitment with your “why” in order to move past excuses and fully commit. This allows you to invest in yourself based on the future you are creating versus where you currently are. Instead of rating something by its monetary worth, you are able to relate to the ROI when you are connected to your goals through your “why.” At the core, it’s not about the actual amount of money; it’s about the kind of life you want to live and how committed you are to creating it.

We get to choose to believe the stories that will hold us back and keep us feeling small or we get to choose the ones that propel us forward. Your call. At the end of the day, there is no lack of time, money, resources, and ability in the world. There is an abundance of these things, and it is your choice to believe whether or not you are going to go out and get what you want!

You determine how much you BELIEVE you deserve, and you enable yourself to operate in a way to receive and achieve what you deserve. It’s easier to choose to believe you are small than to choose what you are committed to. I invite you to not make that easy choice that will simply keep holding you back and in the same exact place where you are right now.

What choices could you make RIGHT NOW that would completely reverse the ways in which you have been holding yourself back?