by Suzie Doscher
 
This is a big topic and unique to each person depending on what exactly your self-sabotage routine is and how it shows up. Have you ever wondered just how much you hold yourself back and / or limit yourself with self-sabotaging behaviour patterns? 
Self-sabotage can be described as running interference on yourself. I suggest ‘awareness’ is the first and most important step towards dealing with it – the awareness of this patterns existence. Everybody has an inner saboteur’; the ‘inner critic’. Think of the times when you have asked yourself “Why did I do that?” I like to think of self-sabotage as ‘a virus in the software,’ The job is to get rid of it and run a new program. Healthy routines are those that move your life forward, such as maintaining some kind of equilibrium, maintaining your physical and mental health. 
 
A routine becomes sabotage when it keeps you stuck in the same place, treading water, not moving forward. What started these self-sabotage routines and where they come from is well researched in psychology.

by Suzie Doscher
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The magic of small steps can help you achieve remarkable results. A new behaviour pattern might be what you want or need; you feel, however, there is not enough time to work on it. At other times you start to improve your lifestyle but give up far too quickly because of not “getting there” fast enough. You will have a better chance of success once the task has been broken down into smaller parts.
 

• Even small changes in your life will add up to big results.
• Setting realistic goals and taking small steps to meet these goals will lead to success.

 
Today’s lifestyle does not allow much free time. Bear this in mind, small steps are more realistic, more achievable, and keep your day-to-day life feeling more balanced.
 
Consider these tips: 

1.  If are not already motivated: consider the things will be different once you have completed the action plan.
2. Write down all the details involved in getting this done. What changes have to be considered and made? Make a list. As the ideas come to write them down. At this point do not pay attention to the order of priority, just write.
3. Rewrite the list in order of priority. What exactly has to be done first? What follows?
4. Consider if taking the steps in this order is realistic. Do you have enough time? Do you need support? If yes, whose? Do they have time?
5. If anything has been left out, add it.
6. Adjust your steps if necessary along the way. Stay open to calibrating your targets and steps if necessary. It is perfectly okay to revisit and revise them to ease the load along the way. It is much wiser to keep things realistic than to be tense and under pressure. Most importantly, make sure these targets and steps are aligned with your personality.
7. Take the first step, then the next, and so on... one at a time.
8. Appreciate yourself for having worked this out.
9. Well done! Do not forget to celebrate the small gains along the way. 
   
   ​Do things in the style that suits you. Remember, life changes constantly and therefore requires you to go with the flow when something needs adjusting or adapting. You are more likely to reach the goal. 
   
   

How I create a mind map to help me with actionable steps:... click to see more.

By Brigid Schulte, BBC Worklife

Let’s see if this sounds familiar: You churn through the day at work under deadline pressure, racing to meetings, dashing off emails, feeling busy, purposeful and a little breathless. Yet as the end of the traditional workday draws near, you realise with a sinking feeling that you haven’t even begun the big project you meant to tackle that day.
So you bring work home, or decide not to and can’t stop feeling guilty about it. Either way, your work is spilling over into the rest of your life, stealing time and mental bandwidth away from family or rest or fun, and leaving you feeling exhausted and a little resentful. You resolve that tomorrow will be different. But come morning, you inevitably find yourself back on the treadmill of busyness.

That’s a pattern Antonia Violante has seen a lot at workplaces she’s been studying in the United States for a project on work-life balance. Behavioural scientists and researchers like her call it “tunnelling”. When we’re stressed and feeling pressed for time, Violante explains, our attention and cognitive bandwidth narrow as if we’re in a tunnel. It can sometimes be a good thing, helping us hyper-focus on our most important work.

When we’re stressed and feeling pressed for time…our attention and cognitive bandwidth narrow as if we’re in a tunnel. 

by Suzie Doscher

Feel like you keep facing the same uphill struggle? 

Sometimes you create your own problems with your thoughts and beliefs. It is these particular thoughts that hold you back, keep you stuck and consequently limit you. In my coaching practice, as well as my own personal experience, I have witnessed how a self-sabotage routine can be created with these thoughts and beliefs. If you find that you keep coming back to the same type of situation again and again, it is well worth exploring if, in fact, you are running a self-sabotage routine.
 
To break this self-sabotage cycle, you will need to first determine what this limiting thought or belief is. Once you have figured that out (by yourself, with the help of a friend/boss or qualified coach), consider the information below to help yourself make a lasting change. 
 
The best approach is to replace whatever you are thinking is with a thought that is more positive. For example: 

• "I am not sure how to..." can turn into, "I will find the time to work out how to do this."
• "I do not have the time," turns into, "If I had the time, this is what I would do."

 By Marina Khidekel, Head of Content Development at Thrive Global

We all have our own ways of getting our creative juices flowing. While some of us feel inspired after taking a walk in nature, others might get our biggest bursts of inspiration in the shower, or while sitting in total stillness. 
We asked our Thrive community to share the specific rituals that spark creativity and inspire their best ideas. Which of these will you try the next time you need a creative boost?

Establish a creative morning ritual
“I start most days with a small creative ritual. Before the rest of the house wakes up, I drink my coffee, grab my art supplies and journal, and proceed to paint, collage, write, and just create something each day. For me, the key is keeping the ritual tied to a well-established habit – my morning drink — and keeping my supplies organized and visible near my kitchen table. I find that on days I take this time, I’m much happier and less stressed.”
—Jill Elliott, founder of The Color Kind, Dallas, TX