Maureen IvusicAre you sick of feeling frustrated, guilty or ashamed of your bad habits? Have you lost all hope in reaching your goals? Do you know that you need to make some BIG changes in your life, but you don’t know where to begin?
If you answered “Yes” to any of the questions above, I urge you to read on!
I know all too well how easy it is to beat yourself up over ‘bad’ habits. I spent years, silently suffering, drowning in my own criticism and guilt. That’s right – you are NOT ALONE. Not even close! At any moment there are countless other people, struggling with their inner critic, just like you.
Archetypes: A Symbolic Perspective
An archetype is pattern of human behavior that plays out in the experience of people across time and space. Similar to a stereotype, archetypes are a symbol or a very typical example of a person or thing.
For instance, when someone is described as a ‘Princess’, we are able to get an idea of what she may be like without meeting her. Other examples of archetypes are: Mother, Artist, Addict, Healer, Athlete, etc.
What I have learned from Spiritual Teacher Caroline Myss is that we have 12 dominant archetypes (think of them like characters) that combine to make up our unique personality.
While the combination varies from person to person, Myss says there are 4 universal archetypes that are experienced, to some degree, by all humans on Earth. They are, what Myss calls, the ‘survival archetypes’ because they present challenges that build our character and ultimately help us find peace.
Caroline teaches that we can identify and interpret our 12 archetypes to get guidance in our lives. This guidance helps us take responsibility for ‘bad’ habits and break the patterns that keep us feeling stuck in life.
Looking at life through the lens of archetypes is fascinating and has been something that has helped me transcend many of my self-destructive habits. I know that it can help you too! So, let’s take a look shall we?
One of the 4 universal archetypes, the Saboteur, is especially important to address when it comes to reaching our goals, so let’s start there!
Is Self-Sabotage Another Word for Bad Habits?
Alyce P. Cornyn-Selby explains: “Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.”
Our saboteur is the voice inside our head that makes excuses, lets us break our own rules and ultimately lets us down. It walks us to the edge of a cliff and tells us it’s safe, when really its not. It’s our patterns self-destructive behaviors, the ones that we know are causing us harm but we can’t seem to shake.
Simply put, self-sabotage is how we get in the way of our own success.
I encourage you to think about what you are doing that is preventing you from reaching your goals. Do you have any of these bad habits?
Here are some common examples of Self-Sabotage:
- Procrastination
- Lack of assertion to peer pressure
- Overworking
- Poor sleep or health habits
- Lack of planning or consideration like not packing healthy lunches
- Overeating
- Emotional grocery shopping and eating
- Under-exercising
- Neglecting health
- Eating disorders of all kinds
- Addictions
- Self-sacrificing
- Staying in a job or relationship that we know isn’t right for us
Now, some of these self-destructive behaviors may just seem like part of being human, ‘normal’ or harmless but if we are really honest with ourselves, we know it’s not in our best interest.
More often than not, we know what we’re doing isn’t good for us but we go ahead and do it anyway. This can induce a healthy dose of guilt from which we promise ourselves to change, to never do it again but somehow, no matter how hard we try, we fail again only to become more hopeless and critical of ourselves. This pattern erodes our self-esteem and leaves us with very little will power to make healthy choices.
If you can relate, are sick of sabotaging your own success and want help turning your life around, David and I have put together something just for you.
For a limited time, we are offering free online training that will help you to understand WHY you sabotage yourself. In this exclusive training, we teach you how to tame your self-saboteur and control those bad habits in 7 Simple Steps. You can get back on track to looking and feeling your best (ever)!
Don’t put your self-care off another minute. Push through the resistance and register for the training today!
Resources:
Archetypes: A Beginners Guide To Your Inner-Net By Caroline Myss
Join me in a FREE Webinar on Self-Care!
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