The number one reason we self-sabotage financially

We’ve all had a time in our life when we’ve decided enough is enough and resolved to change old habits, whether it’s upping the weekly exercise, spending less time on screens or cutting back on the constant Amazon orders. If you’ve been here, chances are you’ve also experienced the feeling a few weeks later when you press the “f*ck it” button and put the good intentions in the bin. So why do we self-sabotage, and what can we do about it?

There are a number of reasons why we self-sabotage, especially when it comes to our finances. One of the most common reasons for financial self-sabotage, according to Psychology Today, is that our brains work in a way that favours familiarity. Our brains are wired to default to what we know, making it difficult to break old habits and this is especially true when we’re under pressure or stress. So even if you know that spending to make yourself feel better doesn’t often work, you’ll often be drawn to the familiar decision, rather than the logically better one. 

We also self-sabotage in order to avoid the risk of failure. If we have underlying doubts about our ability to succeed at something, or to achieve our goals, even if we think we are capable of them on the surface, we often end up self-sabotaging. When we self-sabotage, we control the outcome and essentially, control our own failure or downfall. As much as we tell ourselves we want to succeed, our brains choose the option of accepting and controlling our own failure over the uncertainty of what may happen otherwise. Sounds crazy, right?

Finally, we sometimes self-sabotage due to avoidance and procrastination, allowing ourselves to take less responsibility for outcomes and again - reduce the risk of failure. Our human instincts lead us to protect ourselves and avoid situations that make us feel vulnerable and if we feel anxious, we can procrastinate in order to put off making decisions. It’s the same reason why we overthink and why perfectionism isn’t at all helpful to our progress, in life, work or getting our money in order.

The good news? Financial self-sabotage is a challenge you can overcome, and it all starts with understanding what the root of the self-sabotage really is. If you’re ready to start asking yourself uncomfortable questions and uncover what beliefs about money you hold that are tripping you up from moving forward with money, we can put in place effective strategies to make long-lasting changes and make money work for you.

If you’re ready to dig deep and move from stressed out about money to calm and confident, you can find out more about my transformational group coaching programme here.