How to know if your subconscious mind is sabotaging you? We all may know it as different things like your innermost, unconscious, repressed, suppressed… Whatever you want to call it… It could be holding you back from doing the things you want to do with your life.
At the end of the post, I will be announcing who won my giveaway to win a copy of Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.
One line from one of Maria Forleo’s podcasts lit a fire up under my ass. We will use writing as an example because that is what sparked this week’s post.
Your subconscious mind is a powerful little biatch and let me tell you, you want her on your side…
I mentioned last week that I was having a little bit of writer’s block. So I spent the last 3 days trying to figure out a topic for this week that sparked my interest to sit down and write it because all of us writers know that the 2 P’s of writing are PLEASURE and PAIN. You are ALWAYS writing about one of those topics.
If it doesn’t inspire me in some kind of way then I shouldn’t be writing about it. My post from a couple of weeks ago was proof of that. I put something out just to put something out. It is not a great post and I will be the first to admit that. I have been putting too much pressure on myself to write the “perfect” blog post that is going to bring in all this traffic to my website and social media profiles.
My one big break
Don’t get me wrong that is not why I do what I do, but you know we all wish for that ONE BIG BREAK that just solidifies why we do what we do. I put this pressure on myself that EVERY blog post needs to be super long and jam-packed with information. NO ONE wants to read a 1000-1500 word blog post EVERY SINGLE TIME you come to my site.
It took that one line from Marie Forleo to spark some kind of emotion within me. It made me take a step back and internally think is me and this little biatch on the same page?
I think the fuck not… So let’s discuss how to know if your unconscious mind is sabotaging you…
Changing your Mindset
I know it is a hard thing to do because of personal experiences but we need to start with changing our Mindset and work through it till we get to a deepened state of our mind. You may not think negative thoughts intrude on your mind, but the little voice that is in the back of your head puts fear and doubt into yourself and others.
If the words that come out of your mouth are followed by conjunctions in your head… you are not really saying what you want to say. Those conjunctions are well, but, if, yet and besides. There are more but those are the most common.
Example: Externally you say: I am so happy you got that promotion. But Internally you finish that sentence with: Yet here I am working for this company for years and they get a promotion before me.
The words coming out of your mouth or the thoughts in your brain don’t always match up with what your deep inner conscious thinks. Something we should all work on is changing our inner monologue. It needs to match what is deep down in the darkest parts of our minds. It takes time, a lot of practice, and definitely A LOT of patience. We need to work on taking those conjunction phrases out of our inner conscious minds.
Procrastination or Productivity
I am guilty of this one… It’s either ALL or NOTHING. The day will be productive or you will not get a damn thing done. One thing I am guilty of and I am trying to work on is busy work. I get on the computer with the intention of writing a blog post. I open up WordPress to start writing, but then I tell myself I have to make the social media images for my profiles.
So I open Canva, but then I have to find the perfect photo to go along with what I am saying. The next thing you know I have been at the computer for 3 hours and no work has been accomplished. Just a bunch of tabs open and me cursing at my computer screen.
Now all because of that, my day is shot. This makes me annoyed, frustrated, and need to take a break which means I won’t be getting up from the couch unless I need to use the bathroom or get food.
That needs to stop. It is not benefiting anyone. When I see that I am getting off track I have to stop myself. Sometimes I don’t really notice it but now that I am more consciously aware of my bad habits. I can recognize them quicker. At that moment I can stop myself and get back on track.
Progress not Perfection
I mentioned this at the beginning of this post. I have been chasing perfection rather than just progress. It is a fear of failure. I fear that what I have to say is not good enough or I sound like I regurgitating information given by so many other people. Sometimes I might be because what they said or did was impactful. In my mind, I always grew up thinking I wasn’t good enough. It is how some people made me feel. So if my work is not absolute perfection I don’t want to do it. But then I beat myself up for not producing any content.
It is a never-ending cycle. With each post, I write I am just going to publish it from now on because It is about progress, not perfection. This brings me to my next topic…
Imposter Syndrome
I recorded a video and published a blog post about imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is a bitch. It stops us from doing a lot of things. What has helped me with my imposter syndrome is the phrase “Be the vessel, not the source”.
I am not the end all be all of the information for personal growth or any other topic I discuss on Our Redonkulous Life. With each post, I am the person who is trying to better myself and is sharing my experience to hopefully inspire you to try it for yourself. I am the vessel that shares the information on the source of bettering yourself (personal growth).
All I can do is write my experiences and let you do what you want with it.
Is your subconscious mind is sabotaging you?
I am re-reading this post over and over editing it, adding, subtracting information and I realized I talk a lot about myself. But as I have said I am the vessel, not the source. I feel that if I share what I am thinking and feeling others can relate. In the end, our inner conscious mind may not have our best interests at heart. Why? Because of jealousy, imposter syndrome, other people’s perceptions of us. It could be a number of things, a combination of things either way we need to work on changing our mindset. Telling our subconscious minds to shut up so we practice progress, not perfection, and get rid of imposter syndrome.
In the comments tell me about a time you realize your mind was sabotaging you…
Until Next Time, Have a great day! Remember you are a badass…
Speaking of badass… I am excited to announce the winner of my giveaway to win a copy of Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life.
Congratulations Tina. I will get a hold of you soon to mail you your copy of You are a badass. I have seen the progress you have made in your personal growth journey and I think you are doing amazing. Go give Tina a follow on Instagram so you can follow along her journey as well!
Until Next Time, Have a great day! Remember you are a badass…
Omg yay! Thank you so much! I’m so happy to be on this personal growth journey and to be able to follow you on yours as well. ❤️
You are so welcome Tina! I hope you enjoy the book!
Oh geez does my subconscious sabotage me at times! I always tell myself I am going to get things over with ahead of time but procrastination is my middle name.
Hey, that’s my middle name too! But I am trying to change it. It doesn’t suit me or my lifestyle anymore. LOL
Hey that’s my middle name too! But I am trying to change it. It doesn’t suit me or my lifestyle anymore. LOL
This really hits home. It is so easy for me to get sidetracked or to start doubting myself. I think all of our subconscious minds are out to get us on some level. LOL
It has been a struggle, but you gotta keep working at it.
This a great post! Sometimes it’s hard to know if our subconscious is sabotaging us but these are good tips to keep in mind. I know for me I have struggled with Imposter Syndrome and it’s not fun. It really kicks you to the curve and then some. But realizing that it affects all of us is a good step toward progress and development!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com
Imposter syndrome is the worse. It gets me every damn time!
Progress not perfection. I love that and I need to start reminding myself of that more. Sometimes if I am not perfect I give up!
Same! Progress, not perfection has become my mantra when I am doing things throughout the day and I feel myself getting a little too stressed or obsessive.
Progress is progress! I am proud of you still. And I can relate with having to be productive everyday! It gets really tiring.
I tire myself out before I even start. It’s been a struggle. LOL
Thanks for this post. I had imposter syndrome in the past. But, I gradually overcame it.
Glad you got through it! Share your secrets! LOL
Hihi….this happens to me a lot of the time, when I download peoples’ presentations and try to copy what they did in them. I end up just aborting the entire mission!
Well, you shouldn’t be copying other people’s presentations. It is okay to use them for inspiration and research, but don’t copy.
My subconscious sabotages me all the time. I think it’s part of my anxiety disorder. I’ve worked very hard to acknowledge it and let it pass.
At least you are working on it.
After reading this post, I firmly believe that my subconscious is sabotaging me. Sometimes when people ask me how I am, I always reply with “doing good!” but then my subconscious would be like kicking me in the gut for lying.
I think it has to do with the stigma society put on mental health. We are NOT to let others know how we really feel. Who is that helping? Certainly not me. Now I feel worse.
that is SO useful to me! i especially have HUGE issues with impostor syndrom. I value everything I can read on it
I value you taking the time to read my post. I appreciate it!
I am also trying to be more productive instead of engaging in busy work! I agree that it’s not always necessary to write a long blog post!
Sometimes I feel passionate about a topic, but don’t have much to say about it. We should just be able to post it. LOL
As always a wonderful and deep post with lots of empathy and a great insight in the human….soul? mind? heart? In any case: nature!
Thank you so much, Renata!
I believe in progress as well rather than focusing on perfection because it’s not true.
Perfection is a fallacy. I need to keep reminding myself of that.
I’ve definitely dealt with this, it sure can be frustrating. I think ultimately it is taking me on a path of being stronger and more confident in myself and my decisions.
Anything you do that helps you become more self-aware and a stronger person is always an amazing thing you can do for yourself.
Thank you for this wonderful post. I have learned something new today. Any reads about mental health really is a big help.
You are so welcome, Agnes!
I love Marie`s podcast and I read all her books. Congratulations to Tina for getting a copy of her book. Im sure it will change her life.
Thank you so much! I will let Tina know!
Never knew you Subconscious: could sabotaging you, there is this saying that what you dont know is bigger than you. thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome!
This is an interesting read and I agree with you that it has something to do with our mindset. This imposter syndrome is so real that honestly, this is the main reason why I haven’t published my book yet.
Imposter syndrome is the BANE of my existence!
LOVING these tips! So many good points. I need to implement these.
If you need help starting let me know. I can help you if you want it!
I am prone to doing this to myself. At the end of the day, it really is important that our inner voice supports our growth and happiness. We also ought to cut ourselves some slack as not every day will be as productive and it is okay. What you did is enough, you are enough.
Why is it so easy to cut others some slack but not ourselves? It should be the other way around. Right?
This is fascinating and many people could relate. I don’t know if I can relate to this because I don’t know if I really have imposter syndrome. I have it sometimes but then I have the “jump in the pool naked” kind of feeling in life. It depends on my mood, as Jem would say.
Have you ever felt like you were out of your league when doing something? Or that you didn’t deserve something? Imposter Syndrome is kinda like that. You talk yourself out of doing things because you don’t think you are good enough. It doesn’t have to happen all the time but it can creep in sometimes.
This is a great read – thank you. I know that I’m enough and I hope others will too!
It’s a hard lesson to learn. But I think a lot of us are getting there. LOL