Hard to process how quickly this year is flying by. At the start of the year, we make several resolutions in an attempt to advance our goals. But what happens over time? The level of motivation and passion for attaining these goals starts to wane. We start to justify inactions and procrastination. Soon enough, fatigue and doubt sets in, and inevitably we let go of the promises made and vouch to start over the following year. Why does this happen and how can we overcome this? To start with, if this is happening to you right now, do not worry too much about it. It’s all part of the process and there’s something you can do about it.
Self-Sabotage Defined
Self-sabotaging behaviors keep us away from what we desire by making us second guess our every action and decision. It even makes us question why we have the goals we’ve set to begin with. At the root of it, this is really our subconscious trying to protect us from disappointment. Our subconscious would rather keep us from dealing with our deep-seated fear of failure by having us skip out of even trying in the first place. As a result, we hesitate and procrastinate from doing what we know we should, instead of seizing new challenges. And in the end, we end up missing out on opportunity after opportunity to move things forward,
This is quite natural and happens to most people, especially when one is trying to chart new paths to bring forth new concepts. The amount of energy and creativity required to bring order to chaos is so great that our subconscious starts to doubt if we truly have the resources and mental fortitude to stay the course. If this feeling is familiar, don’t worry too much about, there is a “hack” for this. The hack is to simply commit to renewing your energy commitment towards your goals daily. Here are a few tips to help.
Plan Your Schedule A Night Before
Creating a plan for your day is an excellent habit to temper self-sabotaging behaviors. Not having to decide every decision at the moment of execution helps to conserve your brain’s resources for more productive, higher value activities. As such, try to plan out your next day’s schedule the night before. What’s great about doing this the night before is your subconscious starts to gear up and come up with strategies for how to get the items on your list completed, while you sleep. Enabling you to wake up with a focused and clear mind on what to do and how to do it.
Utilize your Productive Hours Effectively
Do a self-study to understand when you are most energized and schedule difficult activities for those times. I tend to be an early riser and enjoy working on my most difficult problems when the house is quiet. As such, client deliverables and proposals are scheduled to be completed first thing in the mornings. This allows me to get my creative juices flowing without the distractions and interruptions of children, emails, and client calls. Save the less draining activities like checking your emails, browsing the internet, completing your amazon orders, or listening to music when you at your lowest energy level.
Surround Yourself with a Support System
Align yourself with people who are doing the same things you want to do. It’s easy to get discouraged when you are the only one chasing a specific goal. Be sure to have a team of people who can hold you accountable, as well as act as your encouragers. It also helps to stay away from pessimists and naysayers. Negativity is a drain on creativity, so avoid negative people as much as you can. The encouragement and good vibes from people who want to see you win will surely help push you through your self-sabotaging moments and get you moving in the right direction.
Adopt a Self-Care Routine
The fact is sometimes you are tired and need a massage. Avoid the inevitable burn out by paying close attention to what you need to refuel. Schedule in some “me time”, take a weekend trip to switch things up, watch Netflix, go for walks, get a massage, meditate, drink more water, talk to a therapist. Figure out what to do to proactively love on yourself. Remember you can’t create from a place of lack. Take care of your mind and body, and it’ll take care of you.
Conclusion
Self-sabotage is a thing! Getting distracted and slowing along the way a very natural part of the process of creating. However, you must manage to overcome the downturns and regain the momentum if you’re diligent. These tips discussed can surely help you get back on track. Getting things done sounds straightforward in theory, but the reality is there are twists and turns along the way. The year is not over yet. Get back on track.
