Don't Wait Until Rock Bottom to Search for Signs of Self-Sabotage

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You likely know someone in your life who has or had lofty goals only to continuously allow bad habits to cause everything to go kaputt. Often times, these self-sabotaging activities are clear as day to the observer, yet completely lost on the self-saboteur. You, as said observer, think to yourself, “Why can’t this person stop blaming everyone else and realize that they themselves are the cause of the problem?” If only that person were introspective enough to see the truth! But they aren’t, so they don’t. Bad habits are as much a part of them as the goals and ambitions they can never achieve. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Of course, who’s to say this isn’t the way other people perceive you?

In a nice feature over at Fast Company, business writer Gwen Moran puts the spotlight on Karen E. Berg, a former business coach and author of the new book Your Self-Sabotage Survival Guide. As is customary for authors of books with titles like that, Berg has a backstory filled with mistakes and misjudgments that nearly ruined her career, though it should be noted that these came on the heels of a personal tragedy. Nevertheless, Berg self-corrected and in doing so, obtained an acute ability to spot self-sabotaging behaviors in others. As Moran writes, Berg rebuilt her business with a focus on helping business professionals clean up their bad habits. The key, as mentioned, is a dedication to introspection. Here’s Moran’s description:

“Berg has seen all manner of self-sabotage in her clients. Undermining yourself can take many forms, including fear, procrastination, impulsiveness, arrogance, or even avoidance, much like she experienced. To get to the heart of how you’re sabotaging yourself, you need to recognize the destructive behaviors in which you engage.”

Moran’s piece offers a glimpse through the playbook of identifying, analyzing, and correcting self-destructive behaviors. Berg explains how to name your affliction, estimate just how much damage it’s causing in personal and financial terms, and self-treat yourself to kick lousy habits. At the end of the day, the only person who can take control of your life is you. If you’re a self-saboteur, either you can continue to be the person others talk about or you can work to be the person others admire.