It’s the New Year, and at this time of year, many people set goals and resolutions to achieve yet struggle to maintain their motivation and keep themselves in check when it comes to actually committing to positive change.
In this sense, many people feel they are their own worst enemy – some will even go as far as to say they are “self sabotaging” yet, in reality, the majority of people that use this term misunderstand the true nature of self sabotage.
The reality is that your brain is there to do one thing; protect you – at all costs, no matter what, and as such it values safety, certainty and caution.
When you try to expand and creative positive change, you are essentially having to go against the nature of your brain as all it wants to do is protect you from harm, meaning, it values the certainty of routine and would prefer you stay completely miserable yet safe, rather than risk your safety to grow and prosper.
This is why so many people “settle” in life and end up living quiet lives of desperation, rather than growing into the person they truly want to become and live the life they feel they deserve. It’s not “self sabotage” as such.
The brain will view something as risky and therefore sabotage it – thus, there is a positive intention behind it, which is to protect you from harm.
That said, sometimes people are plain lazy. For instance, many people who are prescribed medicine fail to take it as instructed because they are lazy, disorganised and forgetful – it’s not self sabotage or them being their own worst enemy, it’s the nature of the human spirit… we look for the path of least resistance and often that is the lazy path that involves us doing nothing.
For this reason, innovative companies such as Lifebrite Laboratories are looking into ways to create medicine that works around the fact humans are intrinsically lazy, forgetful and non-compliant creatures… even when it comes to taking care of their own health.
Therefore, if you’re sat there beating yourself up thinking you are your own worst enemy, chances are you’re actually just human… and humans are both intrinsically lazy, as in they are always looking the shortest and most effortless path, regardless of the consequences, and your brain is set up to help you survive rather than thrive.
The basic advice, therefore, is to be a little easier on yourself and not shift your identity as being one of “your own worst enemy” because this can create a lot of unnecessary psychological drama for you to deal with.
Instead, you simply need to become more organised, disciplined and focused.
As we enter the new year, now is a great time to consider your goals and what it is you truly want from life, and then work out the best way to get there… understanding that your brain is likely to throw a few spanners in the work, and that inner voice that tells you “you can’t”, that is also there to protect you are both going to need pacifying.
In this sense, you don’t need to man up – you just need to be your own best friend and understanding that everything you do is in the interest of your physical and psychological survival, so be less hard on yourself and take on the world!
Impressive points in this article. Thanks for sharing.