Self-Sabotage is Real. Are You Sabotaging Your Success?

Where are you sabotaging your business right now? I am sure there is some area in your business that you are neglecting without noticing. I am guilty of this too, probably from the very beginning of my business.

Self-sabotage means there are areas in your business you neglect, sometimes on purpose but often without noticing. You can be successful and still do it. And it stops you from being even more successful. Many of these things do not take a lot of time. You could probably fix them quite quickly. So why are you not doing it?

Self-Sabotage Starts With Not Feeling Worthy

Self-sabotage means that for some reason we do not believe we are worthy. That hit me hard. I do not walk around thinking I am not worthy. I think I deserve the success I have had. I have provided for my family for many years as the breadwinner, and I have 2 homes and split my time between Iceland and Switzerland.

I do not regret anything. But there is always some area we do not pay enough attention to. Why we do it is probably a topic for a therapist. My method is simpler: when I realise what I am sabotaging, I can do something about it and stop.

Trying to Do It All on My Own

When I started my business, I thought I could do it all on my own. I tried a bit of everything and hoped something would work. I call it spaghetti marketing, and I did it for 9 months. For many years I did not see it as self-sabotage. Now I see it very clearly.

If I had hired help or invested in myself earlier, I would have skipped some frustrating months, made more money and not felt so far behind. Not investing in yourself, and not working with someone who knows the right strategy, is a form of self-sabotage.

In month 9 I finally invested in myself. I invested $5,000, and in the next 3 months I made $55,000 (about €41K). Imagine if I had done it earlier.

When Success Feels Too Big

Then came the first month of my second year. I had just made $55,000 in 3 months, and $25,000 (about €19K) in December 2014 alone. I did not feel I was worth it. I did not use those words and I was not fully aware of it. But when I look back, it is very clear.

Who am I to make so much money? Is this a fluke? Will it ever happen again?

And what did I do in January 2015? I did not send many emails. I was doing weekly webinars, but I barely promoted them. I usually ran Facebook ads for a week before a webinar. Now I sometimes did not run ads at all, or turned them on 2 days before. I invited people 1 or 2 days before instead of a week ahead. People had reached out to me in December because they wanted to work with me. Did I reach out to them in January? No.

I did not see it while it was happening. Only in February, when I logged into my accounting system, I saw it: $1,700 (about €1,500) for the whole month. The month before it was $25,000. This is what self-sabotage looks like. It hits your revenue and your profit directly, and that changes how you can live your life.

Not Checking Your Numbers and Not Setting Goals

Luckily I checked my books. Some people do not check their books for months, and that makes it worse. Not checking your numbers is a form of self-sabotage.

As a business owner you look at your numbers at least once a month. Weekly or even daily is better. You should know your numbers for January at the beginning of February, not in March. If that is not in place, get the right support.

Not making a budget is another form. Wherever you are in the year, you need a plan. What is your revenue goal this year? Your profit goal? Your cost goal? What will you pay yourself? Write it down. It should never be an afterthought.

The first year I made a million dollars in revenue, I had that goal from January. I was on target every month, only because I checked my numbers all the time. There have also been years when I was not so clear about my goal. After I reached the million I thought, maybe this year it is 2 million, maybe 3 million. That is self-sabotage, and I am guilty of it too. I am not lecturing you. Everyone does some form of self-sabotage.

My Own Example: A $99 Website

Here is the one that was weighing on me when I recorded this video in 2024. I had a website I created in 2015. I paid $99 for the theme and worked on it for 2 or 3 hours while we were travelling in Iceland. My TEDx talk was about to come out, and I wanted the website updated with the TEDx pictures.

I can be proud that I made almost $18 million with a $99 website. In marketing it sounds fantastic. But there is a dark side to that story. Why did I not have a website I was proud of, one that fit my stage of business and showed my brand as it is today? The brand I had in 2015 has nothing to do with the brand I have today. I have grown, stepped out of my comfort zone and created programs I am proud of. My website should show that, and yours should too. When people see your website, it is your business card.

The website was simply not a priority. We did everything with social media and landing pages. But things that are important and not urgent become urgent if you neglect them for too long. I cannot say how much more I would have made with an up-to-date website. Maybe 1 or 2 million more. We can never know. Not showing who you are today, on social media and on your website, is a form of self-sabotage.

So I made a commitment: no more self-sabotage when it comes to my website.

What Are You Committing To?

Something in your business has been neglected for too long. Find out what it is. That is the first step: realise you have been sabotaging yourself. Then take the first step to fix it, and commit to following it through to the end.

From The Sigrun Show, Episode 86

No matter how experienced you may be in online business, every entrepreneur is guilty of self-sabotage. I include myself in this. I have been an online entrepreneur for many years now, and while I have enjoyed significant success, I can still be guilty of self-sabotage.

Thankfully, I have learned to recognise the warning signs of self-sabotage - whether subconscious or conscious - and now I take action to prevent them from harming my online business, and stop my own behaviour from preventing me from reaching my goals. In this episode of The Sigrun Show, I will share techniques on how you can do the same.

How do you self-sabotage? According to many psychology experts, sabotaging behaviors are those that create problems and interfere with your ability to achieve your long-standing goals. For many business owners, self-sabotaging behavior often manifests as procrastination and blaming others.

I discuss the various ways that many entrepreneurs sabotage their success. I share some of the excuses we use to place the blame of our lack of success on others and how to identify - and overcome - self-sabotage.

When you self-sabotage, you are confirming to yourself what you already believed was true.” - Sigrun

In This Episode of The Sigrun Show:

• Common complaints and excuses that sabotage your success
• The effects of comparing your success to others
• The importance of identifying when you are unconsciously pulling back in your business
• Why it’s critical to get help when you realize you’re sabotaging your success
• How mastermind groups can help you identify and overcome self-sabotaging behaviors

Resources Mentioned:

• Get Rich Lucky Bitch by Denise Duffield-Thomas
• Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

Key Takeaways:

1. Be patient. Learn the skills and strategies you need to achieve success.
2. Stop comparing yourself to others.
3. Seek help. Ask questions. Join a mastermind.