How Self-Sabotage is Impacting Your Business Without You Knowing it

‘It’s not working… I can’t do it!’ Self-sabotage is something we encounter in our everyday lives. It affects business owners and ordinary people in many ways, for instance, avoidance of preparing for an important meeting because it may concern a difficult topic or not pushing yourself that extra mile to get more sales because you may think the end result will not be successful anyway.

Consequently, self-sabotage can disrupt your business. You may be blaming your employees for a lack of growth in your business. Or you may be feeling unable to finish important tasks. This leads to the well-known self-talk ‘what is wrong with me?’ and self-sabotage is the key ingredient reinforcing your fixed mindset.

As a high-performance business coach, I have experienced first-hand self-sabotage myself. On occasion, I would prefer to give less direct advice to my clients to avoid displeasing them in any way. However, this is when my offensive mindset comes in and I realise that clients will not benefit from a ‘petty’ reassurance, but rather direct, honest advice which will lead to real change.

Every day, you are engaging in activities that waste your time and deplete your energy and happiness. Self-sabotage is not your friend.  Is this what you want your life and business to look like?

I wouldn’t think so. In that case, you can start to create ways to become the newer, more productive and successful version of YOU. By implementing these simple steps in your everyday life, you can create a business that finally works.

This is the solution for your self-sabotage:

Fight self-sabotage by focusing on what works. How often do you as a business owner focus on the negative aspects of your business? You may still be caught up by a mistake which was made in your company last week.

It’s time to change. You could reward your employees for the small and big contributions they have added to your business, celebrate the number of sales you have made in the past month, or perhaps review your cash flow and reflect on what is working well.

Start practicing daily self affirmation (only takes one minute a day!)

A useful way to beat self-sabotage is through self-affirmations. By showing self sabotage in your every day behaviours in business and personal life, you have created negative and limiting self talk which you tell yourself than you think. The best way to change your negative self talk is through positive self talk – it is as simple as it sounds.

Self-affirmations are a series of statements you should repeat out loud to yourself EVERY DAY to start growing positive beliefs about your abilities. Here are some examples you could embed in your daily routine:

  • My life holds no limits
  • I am smart and successful
  • Obstacles and challenges strengthen me
  • I am a confident business owner
  • Money comes my way

If you would like to know how self affirmations can have a positive influence on your business and personal life, and discover more affirmations, visit this website.

Reduce self – sabotage through planning your business for the next 5,10,15 years

A common self-sabotage behaviour by business owners is diving into their business without a plan. What a waste of time! If you do not currently have a firm plan in place which clearly defines where you are heading within the next 5,10,15 years, you are hindering the growth of your business.

It is like you saying you would like to get to a new country without any map or navigation. Why is this a problem?

Problem number 1: You have no clarity for the present moment or the future

Problem number 2: Getting to your desired location will take much longer than it should do, through your lack of clarity. Don’t make the same mistake in business.

If you would like free access to a business plan template that clarifies what you aim to achieve, your purpose, and your mission, click here.

Recognize your self – sabotage habits

Take a step back – which self destructive habits and behaviours are holding you back from achieving success? The two most common behaviours you may exert are procrastination and perfectionism.

When you procrastinate, you would complete projects and certain tasks at the last minute. You may procrastinate for a number of reasons, for example, you may find the task at hand overwhelming so decide to do it just before it needs to be done.

If procrastination sounds like something you do more than you would like to do, check out  this article out which will provide you with top tips for how to beat procrastination as a business owner, as well as in your personal life.

The key thing to remember is actions outperform words. If you are not investing your time and effort to produce lasting behavioural change, there is no point. Start identifying your biggest self-sabotages today and make the change.

If you would like more inspiration and knowledge into how you can defeat self-sabotage in practice, feel free to look at my book to gain the offensive mindset you are striving for. After all, if you don’t grow, your business won’t grow.