Are You Self-Sabotaging Your Goals?

Are you looking for a promotion, to work less hours or to just feel a little less stressed out? I hate to be the one to say it, but whatever your goal is, the reason you’re not accomplishing it may be because you’re standing in your own way! 

Stress can cause nasty overindulging habits like overworking, overanalyzing, overeating, overdrinking, and over-scrolling. Do you do these things? Do you try to break these habits and then fall back into them repeatedly? If you’re anything like I used to be, you overindulge on everything, and you do it on a regular basis.  

Now, don’t be ashamed. Overindulgence is a very common coping mechanism for stress. To break your self-sabotaging behaviors, you must commit to making a change. Think about why you really want to make a change. Think about your goals and your emotional investment in them. Envision yourself achieving your goals. How do you feel? 

If you are committed to making a change in your behaviors and can connect an emotional feeling to achieving your goals, you’re ready to embark on a seriously life-changing adventure! 

1. Figure out where you’re “over-doing” it. Examine your routine to identify WHERE your “over-doing” it. 
2. Get honest with yourself. You need to be honest and specific in this exercise. Look at how much time and money you are investing the self-sabotaging behavior and whether it’s affecting other areas of your life.
3. Ask yourself why you’re over-doing it. Are you avoiding an emotion? Are you not sure WHY you’re over-doing it and need to journal at the time you are over-doing it to figure out the root cause? Have you ever put thought into this before? If not, don’t worry. It’s never too late to learn about self-care.  
4. Give yourself boundaries. When you know what your habit(s) are costing you and what you’re trying to avoid, it’s time to set boundaries. Ask yourself how much time and money you would like to spend on the habit you indulge in. For instance, if you are spending 2 hours a day scrolling social media, would you like to cut it down to 30 minutes, so you can spend your time doing something more fulfilling? What else would you rather be doing? Is there a hobby you’ve always been interested in picking up, or have you been wanting to spend more time with your friends and family? Make a very thorough list to counterbalance the new limits you would like to set with yourself.

Now that you have a desire to replace your self-sabotaging habits with healthy fulfilling ones and an idea of what you’d rather be doing, practice what you preach! Replace time you normally over-indulge with something you’ve been wanting to do. Reflect on how it makes you feel! Chances are that it will bring balance and enjoyment to your life, which will trickle into both your work and home life. It’s a win-win! You owe it to yourself to try! 

If you want help with this exercise or you’re feeling overwhelmed at the thought of it, I would LOVE to walk you through it! Click on the button below to schedule a time to chat!

I can’t wait to help you find your balance and break those nasty habits!

X Anna