subject: Stop Self Sabotage Instantly [print this page] Self-sabotage is your number one enemy when it comes to improving your life. You can go to seminars, learn skills and techniques or even be mentored by the best in any given field. But if your inner self-talk tells you, "I'll never be good at this" or something similar, then that thought will rule the day and you will find a way to sabotage yourself.
Fortunately though, there is a way to put a stop to self-sabotage immediately and permanently. By understanding the marvelous computer-like brain that you possess, you can discover how to do just that.
Better than a super computer
Your incredible brain is far superior to any man-made super computer. In fact, even a bird's brain outperforms our best computer. Can you imagine a computer teaching itself to fly or learn all by itself how to build a nest?
From the moment you were born (maybe even before), your brain started taking in millions of bytes of information every second. It decided which to ignore and what to keep. It saved anything that was important to your physical, emotional and intellectual survival. From that data it created programs and feeds you the appropriate program in the form of inner self-talk as needed. The amazing thing is that it does it all by itself!
What kind of programs?
First, your brain created programs for your physical survival which included how to get food, shelter and stay safe. Then it started creating programs for your emotional survival. It took in data that related to your identity, your place in the family, your security, your need for love, your desire to be happy and your need for purpose.
The problem with the programs
The problem is that these programs were created from a lot of faulty data. Take for instance when your daddy, in a moment of frustration, said, "Can't you get anything right?". Your brain recorded, "I can't get anything right" and made that a part of your identity program. Over the years you heard this inner self-talk so often that you got used to it and you became comfortable with it. This identity became your comfort zone.
Enter self-sabotage
Today, when you take on a new task, and consciously want to do well at it, your subconscious starts up the program again. You start thinking, "I can't do anything right. I will probably fail at this too". Since your mind is divided against itself, sooner or later you mess up the job and you return to your comfort zone.
Do you understand what is happening? Your brain is trying to focus on and accomplish two opposing goals at the same time. Your conscious goal is to learn a new task. Successfully doing this will certainly enhance your identity somewhat. To accomplish that you will have to stretch yourself and leave your comfort zone.
Your subconscious goal it to keep you in your comfort zone and protect your current identity. So it implements a self-talk script that will automatically run on a continuous loop. How long it runs before you give in to it depends upon your self discipline.
Your subconscious, while it is acting like your enemy, is actually your friend. It's doing it's job. It is trying to keep you in your comfort zone and maintain your identity.The problem is that it does not know the program it is running is based on faulty data. Your subconscious does not know it is working against you. The faulty program needs to be replaced with a new program built on good data.
How do we change the program?
Many mental health professionals recommend repeating positive self-talk to reprogram the subconscious self-talk. It never worked for me, maybe because I have a lot to do during the day and forget to talk positive to myself. This method of reprogramming can be very tedious and difficult.
Thankfully though, like a computer, the brain's subconscious program can be instantly deleted and just as quickly loaded with a new program without using hypnosis. With both parts of your brain now focused on reaching the same goal, your brain is brought into full harmony with itself. The result is that the sabotaging thinking and behavior instantly stops, and your subconscious will actually assist you reaching your new goals as you pursue them to their successful conclusion.
