Quiet Self Sabotage

I love quiet self-sabotage. Don't you? :)

Quiet self-sabotage is that dirty little scoundrel who makes you do other things which are also a priority, and all the while, you're putting off doing something you really need.

Lets use working out as an example. Okay?

Say you want to work out. That's a great goal, and something you really want to do.

So you decide on a plan, put it off a little bit, I think many people do this. Then "finally" you win out over the inner brat who "doesn't wanna" do it. For a variety of reasons I might add.

Now, you know you want to work out, maybe you've started, but your inner brat doesn't wanna one day. You're not really paying it much mind initially because you've developed a routine.

You decide to push working out off until later. It's for a really good reason. Maybe you decided to do your spring cleaning or change the oil in the car, or maybe you needed that extra 1/2 hour of sleep because you went to bed too late the night before (mind you that could be on purpose too, for the perfect "reason" as to why you wouldn't be able to get up early and work out) maybe you're doing things and the kids are in the room you'd need to use, so you want to wait till they're doing something else (instead of setting up a boundary with them to leave you be while you go work out).

So many reasons, so little time. They are, truly, all very valid reasons. You're doing something, at times, which are a priority... so you can easily brush off the thought that you "intentionally" blew off working out. Because you accomplished SO MUCH(!) that day.

The reality is, that your inner brat won. :) Sneaky little bugger isn't it?

Yes, it is a sneaky little bugger.

So the questions become, why are you allowing the inner brat to win, thereby making you feel badly about yourself, on an internal level (like self loathing, self consciousness, feeling out of shape, self esteem issues, etc., I think you get the picture.) when you can say "oh shut up! I see what you're doing to yourself! I'm going to fit this in no matter what you say!

Never underestimate the inner brat's ability to deter you from what you really want to do. This is called resistance. It quietly morphs into this big goony goo goo monster, subtly distracting you from what you need to do for yourself, but in a manner that "still" makes you feel that you've done good things and accomplished priority matters.

Interesting how that works isn't it? I think so... :)

This thought process can be applied to many other things as well. Pay attention ... you'll see it. I promise.

Then you can address the inner brat w/rewards and the consequences of it's subtle manipulation. Funny how that works isn't it?

Sue T.