What Happens When You Learn How To Overcome Self-Sabotage

I felt so much relief after my first session with my nutritionist and herbalist. I began to really feel like I could more carefully plan and take action to manifest my goals of keeping my health stable and grounded.

I was ready to shift to build a much stronger foundation for my health and take the necessary steps to prevent more crashes. I began to get excited about adding herbs and supplements to my regime and go beyond just food, exercise and sleep.

Within just a couple weeks I was feeling so much better. I still wrestled a bit with my mindset and the fact that I was so deep in burnout. I wanted my healing to be faster. Many times I'd catch myself slipping back into sabotage by taking on too much, even when I knew better.

It was hard for me to always stay grounded, to simply relax and let things grow at their own pace. I struggled to be patient and let the results take shape as I laid the foundations for my health.

And I know full well, I'm not the only one tempted to sabotage my health goals. Resistance is a sign self-sabotage is rearing it's head to change. It's actually normal human behavior. We resist change because we don't know what lies ahead. We'd rather go back to our comfort zone because we already know what it feels like to survive inside that bubble.

But, in order to truly shift your health, you have to breakthrough to the next level. You have to overcome self-sabotage, even though it will keep showing up, so you can keep getting to the next level and thrive.

So, when you see yourself start to sabotage as you step into a new plan of action for any health intentions you make notice it. Recognize it. It's trying to tell you something.

It's an opportunity for you to break free from the old ways of thinking that were holding you back. Let's face it, if you want to create something new you have to do something different. Resistance is the same thing as growing pains. For most people change is incredibly uncomfortable.

Self sabotage is always a choice and it’s important to become aware of behaviors that are moving you further away from your goals.

Self sabotage is a great gift because it can help you become more aware of what you truly need.

First, it's important to connect with the part of you that might feel nervous, scared or anxious to change. The part of you that is totally comfortable and wants to keep things the same. Try to visualize this and write down whatever may come up for you.

Tell that part of you that it’s not getting fired, only promoted! That the old ways of skipping meals, over eating, losing sleep, binging and putting yourself last may have seemingly worked in the past, but it’s time to implement a new way of BEING.

Next, ask yourself; who you need to be in your life to heal and thrive? I knew I needed to be more present, less anxious and more refreshed to not only avoid health crashes, but to feel fully alive and joyful again. To be that, I had to take extra good care of myself. That meant I had to prioritize my own self-care and establish more boundaries. It meant I needed to stay on top of my health and not let it slip away. It meant I needed to receive more support. It meant I needed to free up funds to invest in my health. It meant I needed to take myself off the back-burner and love myself, make ME a priority. I could go on, but you can see the point.

Now that I knew what steps I had to do to move forward with my health, it was important to recognize my own self-sabotaging behaviors.

With that shared, here are some ways self-sabotage can show up and some things you can do to overcome self-sabotage.

Stop The Negative Self-Talk

I had to stop the negative self-talk. The victim mindset. The "I'll never be able to do all of this" or "am I ever going to heal my body" or even "what if something really horrible is wrong with me?" or "maybe I have cancer".

When I began to recognize this pattern, I could shift it into a new pattern with a perspective to support my health instead of derail it. I began to create affirmations instead and journaled them regularly. I even posted them on my mirror and read them out loud until I didn't feel super awkward saying such things.

Make Yourself A Priority

As a mom, this one can be ultra hard. It can feel downright wrong to prioritize yourself for fear of taking something away from your kids. But martyrdom is not the answer. To be a thriving healthy woman with a sense of her own identity and worth, I had to create healthier boundaries on my time. I had to stop looking for reasons to procrastinate on my own self and health. I had to learn to shift from seeing everyone else's needs or the household needs as more important than my own.

This sabotaging behavior shows up when you hear yourself constantly saying I ran out of time. I couldn't prep healthy meals this week or get to bed early because  ________ [ fill in your excuse ].  Such as, someone else needed me, I had a crazy week, work was so busy, the house was messy so I cleaned it up instead even though I was exhausted and hadn't eaten so I ordered pizza instead. You get the idea, right?

Stop Procrastination In It's Tracks

I'll confess, this one is my arch nemesis. Anyone in adrenal burnout knows that low energy causes you to put off even the simplest things, like getting up to turn off the lights. Yeah, being that drained is a real challenge.

Here's how it shows up in your language and actions.

"I didn't go for a walk today, I'll just get one in tomorrow." The age old, I'll just do it later excuse. Watch this one if it comes up on repeat, notice it and be honest it's an issue.

" I can start my new healthy regime when the holidays are over, or I get back from vacation, or when life is not so busy".

"I'll start my new healthy eating, movement and sleep routine next week when I feel better".

Even when you know what to do, you find reasons to not actually start doing them. Procrastination will never get you to the next level. Notice it. Try to see what it's really telling you so you can see where you need to grow and shift your mind.

Self Acceptance & Healthy Boundaries

You want to be accepted by others more than you want your own health to thrive, so you worry you won't fit in when you need to go gluten free. Or when you need an earlier bedtime your partner won't understand. It will make others uncomfortable and they may not love you anymore. When you seek others approval over your own best interests you are seeking love and acceptance.

The good news is, you get to shift. You get to show yourself acceptance and love first. Even if others don't get it at first, the more you create healthy boundaries for yourself, the more you are teaching others that you matter.

If you've ever said; I will only do a new way of healthy eating if my partner does it too, you are seeking acceptance. What happens if they never want to change? Don't make others responsible for the outcomes you want for your health. You get to THRIVE!

Ditch The Perfectionism

I am also guilty of this, I won't start something sometimes if I feel like I can't do it the most ideal way. Instead of just taking a baby step in the right direction, I'll sabotage because I want idealistic perfection.

How it shows up:

"If I can't meal plan every single meal of the week for both me and my kids, I am a failure."

"If I mess up the diet I am on it won't work and I'll just be a total failure. If I can't do it perfect why bother."

My new motto is; done is better than perfect. One small step in the right direction feels GREAT and when you feel great, you want to build on that. Perfectionism is a prison, you get to learn how to break free from.

Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Your current comfort zone shows up in the form of being afraid you won't succeed. It shows up in the excuses you tell yourself you can't have the health you want. It shows up in the stories you tell yourself and others why it's too hard for you to have optimal health.

Comfort zones are not growth zones. You get to tell a new story and break out of that zone, otherwise you'll never recover your health.

The key to your success in life and creating robust health lies in your willingness to honest look your sabotage square in the eye, recognize what it's really trying to show you so you can take appropriate measures to SHIFT.

What happens when you learn how to overcome self-sabotage is that you become a better version of yourself. You experience success after success and expand into your full potential. When you grow you inspire others to do the same.

Now I would love to hear from you. What self-sabotaging behaviors do you  notice yourself doing? What is one thing you can do this week to help avoid sabotaging your health? Who do you need to BE to move closer to your health intentions? Feel free to share in the comments!