There is one guarantee in life, which is, we will change. To change for the better is up to us. Through our trials in life and path to become better individuals, we may find ourselves regressing back to bad habits from the past. How do we maintain mental strength and keep ourselves moving toward excellence?
Self sabotage is when we do things that block us from reaching our aspirations. Most often the result of conflict between our past and our future. A conflict between what we've always done, and new good habits we're trying to develop. We may be going against our better interests consciously, or subconsciously.
In the process going from childhood to adulthood, we all develop regrettable patterns of behavior. We all develop bad habits. Some of us more than others. Common bad habits can include: gambling, drinking, smoking, laziness, uncontrolled anger, over eating, materialism, porn addiction, or entertainment addiction. This list could go on and on.
But at some point we make a decision, that enough is enough. We are ready for change, and make noble plans to turn our lives for the better. And on the path towards that change we inevitably face obstacles and challenges to overcome. These challenges can be a result of our environment, or social pressure, or peer pressure. And sometimes the obstacle is our own self.
Occasionally it can be difficult to identify self sabotaging behavior, especially if the consequences don't immediately follow the behavior, making the connection unclear. One approach to identifing self sabotaging is to examine whether our other behaviors are aligned with the direction we are trying to go in life. If not, the behavior may be self-defeating. For example, if someone wants to break a food addiction, it's probably not a wise idea for them to reward their successes with a treat of junk food. Sometimes, just the simple act of consciously identifying our problematic behaviors can be enough for us to correct them.
One of the most common and silent forms of self sabotage is Procrastination, or delaying doing an activity we should do. Procrastinating has relation to our previous recording titled, "Staying Guided in Life Purpose (Write It Down)". In that recording we discussed the importance of writing a Todo list to keep us focused and remembered on the things that are priority in our daily activities.
Though even if we keep a Todo list, Procrastination can happen in sneaky ways as well. For example we could be doing many little things that we should be doing, but while doing many low priority things, we end up delaying something of high priority. So in identifying our self sabotage, it helps to be mindful of not just what we are doing, but also what we aren't doing. Beware of Procrastination.
After we've identified some self sabotaging behavior, we should explore methods to overcome the problem. Here we list 5 today.
Recognize Sabotaging Triggers.
Similar to identifying sabotaging behaviors, triggers too must be consciously identified. Triggers are any circumstances that compel us emotionally to self sabotage. So we have to pay attention to our emotions, and what is making us react. Do we feel an urge to gamble when we see a deck of cards? Do we feel like eating junk food when we see a certain advertisement or commercial? Do we get the urge to smoke when we are around others who smoke? Make a note of what your triggers are to control them.Snap Out of It Early.
Learn to catch yourself being emotionally pulled into a bad habit early. At an early stage we can still overcome our compulsive desires with willpower. If we wait too late, then our willpower will be weak, and we end up doing what we regret. To catch ourselves early, we have to be in tune with how we are feeling regularly. Can the compulsive gambler drive past the casino without going in? Could he stand outside the casino without going in? If he went in, could he stop himself from gambling? Each of us has our own limit in which circumstances become too overwhelming, and all the willpower in the world can't help us. Know your limits, and use your willpower while still you can. Snap out of temptation early.Don't Go There.
Our environment plays a huge role in simulating habitual behavior. If possible, an easy option is to avoid places and/or people which stimulate us toward negative behavior. Avoid them and replace them with more positive activities. Does going to the ice cream section of the grocery store compel us to buy a gallon of ice cream? If we open some entertainment application on our device, do we get sucked in and lose hours of our life? One of the easiest changes we can make is to just don't go into situations which cause us to be triggered into bad habits.The Perfectionism Trap.
Sometimes we may feel like we've failed because we didn't achieve a desired outcome in the perfect way, or at the perfect time, or that we didn't do as well as somebody else has done. Our negative reaction can cause us to regress, or go back to old habits in frustration. While we should aim for excellence in our aspirations, achieving our perfect ideal is not always possible, and on our path in life we will all have many setbacks. Changing life habits takes time, and we should accept that there will be times we don't meet expectations. Don't discount your efforts just because you didn't get it perfect.Constantly reassess.
When we are making good progress in life, and we appear to be doing everything correctly, be careful about getting too comfortable. Always be on the lookout for new bad habits, or new triggers that may be appearing. A common example is for people who cut back on smoking, only to increase in obesity. Or for someone to lose fat, only to increase in vanity. We don't want to trade one bad habit for another. We need to constantly reassess our overall progress, and be mindful of new behavioral developments.
In summary, we should all strive to improve our habits and come in greater alignment with our path of excellence in life. But change for the better can often times pose significant challenges. We can become conflicted within ourselves, and do sabotaging things that cause us frustration and set us back. Finding ways to overcome those challenges is the key.
Any significant behavioral change for the better can require a degree of mental fortitude and determination. Having the mindset of relentless determination is just as important as the methods of overcoming. Never accept changing a set of behaviors as insurmountable. The only truly constant thing in all of reality is that everything is always changing, ourselves included.
Video: Staying Guided in Life Purpose (Write it Down)
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@vidarreturns/video-staying-guided-in-life-purpose-write-it-down
We send love out to all our brothers and sisters. Our Ancestors live on through us, and we thank them for our blessings of mind, body, and spirit. Stay blessed.
VidarReturns
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