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Is Self-Sabotage Burning You Out?
Self-Sabotage Trap: I Can’t Do Anything About It
Many of us deal with stress in two ways:
- Problem-focused coping is when we try to figure out what can be done and what cannot.
- Emotion-focused coping is when we are overburdened and start to whine and rant, feeling the pressure.
To help us out of this trap, we need to challenge our beliefs of what is under our control and what is not. We will find that most deadlines aren’t as rigid as they seem to be.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Lack of prioritization
When we’re busy and stressed, we often default to working on whatever has the most imminent deadline, even if it’s not particularly important. Stress causes our focus to narrow to the point where w...
Overlooking easy solutions
When we’re stressed, our narrow focus blocks us from seeing easy solutions that are usually right in front of our eyes.
To get out of the trap of overlooking easy solutions, take a step back and question your assumptions. Taking breaks and letting your mind wander will also help.
Lack of effective systems
When we're burned out, we tend to keep doing something ourselves that we could delegate or outsource, because we don’t have the necessary energy we need to establish a system for recurring problems.
Remedies for recurring problems are often simple if you can step back enough to get perspective.
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Key Ideas
The Issue With Perfectionism
The more you chase perfectionism, the more likely you are to procrastinate and then get stressed out when things don’t go exactly how you wanted them to.
Research even ...
Standards vs Reality
Most perfectionists can’t see their standards are unrealistic and bad for them. To find if you’re a perfectionist, ask yourself if your standards:
- ... are higher than those of others.
- ... can be met by you or others.
- ... help or get in the way of you achieving your goals.
- ... can be relaxed without affecting much the end result.
Thinking Like An Athlete
In sports, the drive for perfectionism is a positive force and turn setbacks into opportunities to reflect, learn, and adjust your approach. But regular perfectionists keep revisiting past failures as a form of self-condemnation.
All this does is cause them to raise the bar even higher, increasing the likelihood of failure. Try to see failure as simply a launching place for success, so you can break away from perfectionism.
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Key Ideas
Impostor Syndrome
It is a psychological phenomenon that reflects the belief that you’re an inadequate and incompetent failure despite evidence that indicates you’re skilled and quite successful.
The Perfectionist
They set the bar excessively high for themselves and when they fail to reach their goals, they experience major self-doubt. For this type, success is rarely satisfying because they believe they could’ve done even better.
But that’s not productive. Learning to celebrate achievements is essential if you want to avoid burnout and find contentment.
The Superwoman/man
Impostor workaholics are actually addicted to the validation that comes from working, not to the work itself. They push themselves to work harder, to measure up with their colleagues.
Start drifting away from external validation. No one should have more power to make you feel good about yourself than you.