Saboteurs, also known as internal critics or self-sabotaging behaviors, are often misunderstood and can have a significant impact on our personal and professional lives. These patterns of negative self-talk and destructive behaviors can hinder your growth, success, and overall well-being.
I like to call the Saboteurs, our Protectors. Because that is essentially what they are doing. They are trying to protect us and keep us safe. Unfortunately, like a computer with outdated software, the Saboteurs/Protectors are sending messages coded when we were children or teenagers. As adults, we have different circumstances and more abilities than what we had as our childhood self.
Below are some of the myths surrounding Saboteurs to gain a better understanding of their nature and how to effectively overcome and work with them. Feel free to substitute the word Saboteurs with Protectors if it helps you have more compassion for this protective system that can cause more harm than good in your adult life.
Myth 1:
Saboteurs are external entities or externalized voices.
Fact:
Contrary to popular belief, saboteurs are not external entities or separate voices. They are internal patterns of thinking, often subconscious, that arise from our fears, insecurities, and limiting beliefs. These patterns can manifest as negative self-talk, self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, extreme judgment, over-worrying and many other destructive thought patterns leading to poor choices and destructive behaviors. Recognizing that saboteurs originate from within, and more precisely, from a part of your brain you had no conscious awareness of (before now), empowers you to be more aware of your thoughts and actively work towards transforming them.
Myth 2:
Saboteurs are permanent and unchangeable aspects of our personality.
Fact:
Saboteurs are not fixed traits or permanent aspects of your personality. They are learned patterns of behavior that can be transformed and overcome through self-awareness and conscious effort. By cultivating mindfulness and understanding the underlying triggers and beliefs associated with your saboteurs, you can develop strategies to weaken their influence and cultivate more empowering thoughts and behaviors. Just as any new habit needs repetition, you can use methods that shift the automated reactions of your saboteurs over time.
Myth 3:
Saboteurs serve a protective purpose and should be embraced.
Fact:
While saboteurs may initially arise as a means of protection, their negative effects far outweigh any perceived benefits. Saboteurs often stem from a place of fear and self-doubt, leading to self-sabotaging behaviors that hinder our growth and success. It is important to recognize that these patterns do not serve our best interests and actively work towards shifting our mindset to more empowering and supportive beliefs. In fact, the saboteurs block our INNATE WISE ADULT from taking the lead.
Myth 4:
Saboteurs can be completely eliminated.
Fact:
Complete elimination of saboteurs is unrealistic and not the goal. Saboteurs are deeply ingrained patterns that have been developed over time. The objective is to reduce their influence and manage them effectively, rather than attempting to eradicate them entirely. By cultivating self-awareness, practicing self-compassion, and utilizing tools such as cognitive-behavioral techniques and playful imagery to reassign the saboteurs energy, you can mitigate the impact of the saboteurs and create a more empowering mindset, as in your Wise Adult or Higher Wisdom self.
Myth 5:
Only highly successful individuals experience saboteurs.
Fact:
Saboteurs are within all of us. They are not exclusive to highly successful individuals. In fact, saboteurs often manifest in times of transition, self-doubt, or when you are stepping out of your comfort zones. Acknowledging that saboteurs can affect anyone is crucial in developing empathy towards ourselves and others, and in seeking the support and strategies needed to overcome them.
Understanding the reality behind saboteurs and protectors is key to effectively addressing and overcoming these self-sabotaging behaviors. By dispelling the myths surrounding saboteurs, we can recognize that they originate from our brain’s wiring for safety and protection. They CAN be transformed.
I teach you how to transform them through humor, awareness, mindful imagery and playfulness. Saboteurs do not react well with aggression and upset. You can be frustrated by them of course. But that won’t change them. It must be done with more neurologically sound methods.
As a brain coach, I promise you, there are proactive strategies that can weaken the influence of saboteurs and cultivate a mindset that supports your growth, success, and overall well-being. Remember, you have the power to overcome your saboteurs with a more graceful and loving perspective. You get to create a more fulfilling and empowered life with your Wise Adult taking the lead more and more.