Three Ways to Avoid Self Sabotage

There are times in our careers where we accidentally and sometimes intentionally set ourselves up for failure. At these moments of self sabotage there are a lot of reasons why you may be doing this: some may be psychological while others might have more deeply rooted issues related to them. I’m not going to try and decipher the logic and reasons behind self-sabotage. Rather I am going to share 3 tips and one bonus point to help you try and avoid self-sabotage.

The challenge is to avoid self-sabotage when possible and by using these tips you may be able to bypass or at least reduce the risks of self sabotage. These are soft skills that take time to master. But, as you become more proficient at them you will stand out in your career.

Here are Three Tips to Get You Started:

1. Don’t over commit
2. Get others involved
3. Write it down

While these three may seem very obvious and you probably think you are doing these already it’s worthwhile to take a closer look at what you are actually doing in your day-to-day plans.

Let’s explore each in a bit more detail

Don’t Over Commit

• This one is pretty obvious. You need to exercise your NO muscle.
• This is probably the hardest thing for many of us to do. To say NO and to stick to it.
• Learn to say NO like a pro – Read How You Can Say ‘No’ Like a Pro

Get Others Involved

• A shared goal is an accomplished goal
• Also by sharing your plans with a trusted adviser they can provide advice directly and candidly on the validity of your plans
• And they can help you prevent over commitment (see point number one)

Write It Down

• When you commit to the act of documenting something you are taking an extra step of committing yourself.
• Which allows you to take another look at number one and whether this is something you really want to do
• This also allows you to set SMART Goals (an oldie, but a goodie)

While there are other ways to help limit and prevent self sabotage these three can help you kick yourself into gear and limit the risk of self sabotage.

A question and a request for you:
What do you recommend to reduce self-sabotage?
Drop a note in the comments and share it with the community please

One last thing for you to consider…

BONUS: As promised… this is a bonus tip. Read… Burning Bridges Might Feel Good, but …

I wrote this post perhaps with a bit of self-sabotage in mind. One way to exercise your creativity and provide some catharsis is to write that email or write that letter, but… NEVER send it. Burning Bridges might feel good, but … it’s a form of self-sabotage you CAN control. Take the high road. You’ll be happy in the long run that you did. Your career will thank you too!

There you have it. Three tips and a bonus to avoid (or at least reduce) self-sabotage.

What have you tried that works for you? Share your thoughts in the comments.