5 Ways to Prevent Self-Sabotage

It's been over six months since New Year's Resolutions were made. How are you doing with your commitment to take better care of yourself this year or are you "over it" because they don't work out anyway? If your heart is in the right place, but you are simply not managing to make the changes necessary once and for all, here are a few ways to keep yourself on track.

1. Instead of trying to stay positive, try validating the “negative” feelings that lurk in the shadows. What sounds like "whining" is sometimes simply a call for attention! Whining can be attempted communications from your soul to bring awareness that you have needs that are apparently not being met. If you are complaining about someone else, you've either got to communicate with them, back away from them, or shift your beliefs about them so that you can make your peace that "this is the way they are." In short: love them or leave them!
2. Are you sick of repeating the same old story over and over again? Refuse to repeat it. What happened in your past cannot be changed. But the meaning you make of that past is up to you. You have a choice of victimizing yourself over and over again with those memories, or you can identify the lessons you learned from that past and move on! Stay focused in the moment. Find a way to become "stuck in your story no more."
3. If we were to put a microphone up to your brain when you were talking to yourself, would we hear a supportive voice of praise or would we hear the wrath of self-criticism? Practice reversing old damage from those who once criticized you. The longer you repeat what they told you, the longer you will continue to give them power over you. Learn to praise yourself for your own personal admissions and insightful thoughts.
4. If you find yourself complaining about parts of yourself that you mercilessly judge, you have the power to transform your judgments by turning them into goals. For example, if you wish you were in better physical condition, instead of feeling victimized by your own apathy, ask yourself what you want instead of a lousy body and body image and create a step-by-step daily plan to get yourself there.
5. If you are not arriving at the door of 2010 living the life that you want to live, you are not alone. Most people live lives they ACCEPT. Change occurs when the routines that once worked no longer do. If you want to break old patterns, do everything you say you want to do whether you feel like it or not. Your self-esteem will rise and your self-respect will grow. Break your goals into small steps that you can manage. And hold yourself accountable. That is how you can best align your daily life with your values. Go for it. If you drop the ball, and God knows we all drop the ball sometimes, pick it back up. Do it for yourself so you can die with a sense of integrity when it's your time to go!
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www.hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org