What do they have to do with Mastery and Consciousness? How can we overcome them?

Self-sabotage is a shadow or semi-conscious mental attitude and behavior that can come out when we are afraid of growth or change–in areas of our lives that are important or very meaningful to us.  

I’m writing to give a very simple and straightforward way to warmly approach the Saboteur,  and utilize it to actually help us.

When we realize what the Saboteur is here to teach us, we can turn this shadow pattern upside down and overcome it.

The Saboteur archetype teaches us 3 fundamental lessons about life and ourselves:

1. It teaches us the power of the mind.
   
   Think of how quickly we often crumble, fatigue, or want to throw in the towel at the slightest setback. This might be in sports, business, art, innovation, relationship, or learning something new.
   I see this on the soccer field with 10 year old boys all the way to pros on tv.
   They get so taken over by an angry mood if they make a mistake that they become incapable of doing their basic performance for the rest of practice or game.An entire practice is ruined, by one mistake–  because the MIND got frustrated. The practice is the practice, but the entire experience of it is changed by the state of the mind.

    

   Some may want to give up the sport entirely if they are not number 1 on the team within 2 weeks. Talk about lesson #3, missing out on life!

   What if we could stay neutral in our minds when we do not perform as well as we wished? We would simply carry on and keep improving. Our entire experience depends on our state of mind.

   Consider anything that is meaningful to us–where we would really love to improve, succeed, or simply experience… If the mind would simply not take it so seriously, the mini failure would be neutral, and we would move on and keep trying.

   How many times does the mind tell us “I can’t do it.”?

   Can’t do what?  Can’t make the call?  Can’t take the next step?  Can’t do the exercises?

   What the F#!@* “can’t” you do?

   Can we enjoy a process of learning piano, starting a new business, starting a new relationship? Or will our minds make it a miserable experience?

    

2. The Saboteur also teaches us that our personal value is innate.
   
   In the game of life, our worth is not connected to how well we perform. The Imposter is here to teach us that we are enough, regardless of external success, performance, and accomplishment.The Saboteur is acting out when we are thinking that an outcome is what determines our personal value.If we can understand that these are separate things, then fear of failure softens, and we can simply continue in the game of life–with courage. We can move toward the things that are important to us, we can strive for excellence without our identity relying on the end result.

    

   Consider the now popular story of Thomas Edison in making the lightbulb— 1000 failed attempts do not imply that he is a failure. First of all, it has nothing to do with it.  Second of all, mastery in any arena— requires thousands of attempts and repetitions. There is no mastery without it.  Try to argue with me on that one.

    

3. The Saboteur warns us: Do NOT miss out on life.
   We can really miss out on life if we let the Saboteur lead the way. What if the 10 year old quit soccer because she is “not good” at it?  What if we don’t try the things that are meaningful to us because we are afraid to fail?Don’t do this! We can all probably think of something we’ve missed out on because of the Saboteur—maybe dancing at the wedding or the school dance? Or maybe a more significant opportunity?

    

   Lastly, it can help to know that everyone has a Saboteur. It is not your special pattern.

   Does this make it easier to overcome? What do you think of this, my friend?