Are you self-sabotaging?

 Let's talk about Self-Sabotage.

Welcome to the Self-Performance-Strategies (S-P-S) Newsletter

The Quick Strategy:

"Resistance by definition is self-sabotage."

― Steven Pressfield

The 2nd Strategy:

I was the master of self-sabotage.

Not so long ago, the standards I tolerated in my life contributed to me making daily mistakes.

In fact, I would go far enough to say I had no real standards and even resisted them; yes, I had general values and wanted to be a decent person.

But I had no standards for my habits, thinking, and health.

Every day I would roll out of bed, run into the shower, and get out of the house just in time or a little late.

Constantly chasing, constantly behind, constantly stressed out.

Obviously, this affected how I showed up at work.

Coming in tired, stressed and just on time or a few minutes late.

I would push through the day, get home, go out again for a few beers or stay up late watching movies or playing video games.

All to repeat the cycle the next day.

I had low standards for myself.

I didn't wake up one day and go from zero to hero with my standards.

It was a slow, steady improvement that caught a wave of momentum over time.

Job commuting circumstances forced me to create a standard get-out-of-the-house time.

This forced me to think about a lights-out going to bedtime to get my 7-8 hours of sleep.

Which got me thinking about how to improve my sleep.

Which lead me to read books on habits.

Over the coming months and years, my standards would improve.

I now have high standards and expectations of myself daily in the core areas of my life.

But every year, my standards improve.

When I 1st started building my standards, it was about basic habits.

Now, when I think about standards, it's about becoming the best version of who I can be.

My life today would sound super boring to me 10 years ago.

I rarely drink alcohol, eat a good diet, and can't tell you much about what's hot in the cinema or on streaming sites.

But 10 years ago, I was earning $14 an hour working as a manager in a record store.

Today I am building a 6-figure coaching business.

That has all come around because I choose to improve my standards and keep improving them.

The 3rd Strategy:

4 ways you self-sabotage without even realizing it.

You don't want you to win: 

Parts of your subconscious want you to stay safe within your limits. 

Be aware of this because you will self-sabotage your success. 

To defeat self-sabotage, you must know how and why you do it.

1. Hedonism: 

You party.

You eat lots of food.

You watch lots of TV. 

You prioritize only fun in your life.

And then you wonder why your life is hard.

This point can underpin many others in this thread.

Because cheap dopamine-fueled or hazy mind will make more excuses than solutions.

Hedonism is not relaxing: 

You have been fooled into thinking having a few beers each night and watching Netflix is recharging you. 

It's not. 

A client of mine recently discovered this, the drinks, TV, and snacks at night were affecting his sleep and his self-performance.

2. Repeating Actions: 

We have all done this, repeating the same actions. 

Hoping this time, they will work; this does not get you any closer to your goals. 

Adjustments need to be made; those are often internal emotional shifts. 

Don't hide behind tasks you know how to complete.

You repeat because it's easy: 

It feels comfortable emotionally to keep taking the same actions.

This is a rut I help a client climb out of; they were spinning their wheels, doing busy work and getting frustrated. 

A simple shift of focusing on high-$$$ work set them free.

3. Not going all in: 

Going 100% in on 1 thing is easier than 80% on 3 things. 

Spreading yourself across many ideas usually means you don't get any done. 

More opportunities appear the longer you stay focused on one direction. 

Deeper >>>> Wider

Go all in on you: 

You sabotage yourself with comparison and then jump from idea to idea because you see others doing well. 

A client was focused on building a course and researching crypto. I asked them what do you want to be. 

They said a coach; we focused on that 1st.

4. Lack of standards: 

Having high standards is the reason why anything worth accomplishing gets done.

It creates discipline, which takes self-control and sacrifice. 

You will stay stuck if you have low mental, emotional, and physical standards.

Raise your standards: 

What you tolerate affects your energy. 

A client was still doing low-$$$ tasks in a project he wasn't interested in anymore; it was sucking up his time and energy.

When he understood his standards, he quickly realized how this work was not serving him.

Your attitude towards these 4 points determines how far you can go in life. 

I hope you can now avoid these 4 traps: 

1. Hedonism 

2. Repeating Actions 

3. Not going all in 

4. Lack of standards 

Improve your standards, do less dumb sh*t, and you will stop sabotaging yourself.

Before we go, I have a few announcements:

The SPS podcast; is now on episode 17!!

You can check out the pod here Self-Performance Strategies Podcast.

You can also jump into the FREE program, the Productivity Diet, and you can get access here: Productivity Diet.

I hope you all have a fantastic week. 

Big love.

Make it a great one,

Stephen