“Even if something feels bad (self-doubt, perfectionism, playing small) it might still feel familiar, and familiarity is comforting to a brain wired for survival.”
After reading this, I couldn’t stop thinking about how it’s easy to decide what you want to do, but the harder part is actually moving toward it. It’s one thing to set an intention, and it’s another to take action to follow through with that intention. It could be starting a new role in a company, or even something simple like establishing a personal boundary. As these moments occur, many of us find ourselves battling with overthinking and freezing in the moment. A gap in your dynamics of car and fuel with people pleasing or procrastinating. It isn’t, but instead it is how your mind processes and reacts to the uncertainty and dry outcomes, rather than a moral failure.
If your brain is remodeling your version of self sabotage, it’s not a sign of weakness, or a signal that you are in fact, lazy. Instead, your brain is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, and that is establishing something familiar and safe. If in the face of ambiguity and the unknown, the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many, and the risk associated with the unknown is many. When stress is triggered, and self control and action planning are shut down, the brain’s dopamine is left to follow.
When you avoid doing something, it may seem like you’re choosing the easier path, but in the long run, it just creates the idea that avoiding something provides a sense of safety in the short term. Eventually, avoiding something too much may lead to self sabotage, and in the long run, the default decision to not do something is just unhelpful.
It is helpful to understand that this is a normal human tendency. Self sabotage is often paired with criticism or shame. Instead, try to meet this tendency with curiosity and compassion for yourself. Developing other sources of dopamine and implementing small changes in your daily habits can, over time, help retrain your brain which is stuck in survival mode. Moving forward does not need to be seen as a threat, discomfort can be welcome, and can offer an opportunity to open your consciousness to a new mind and body.

— Yana Yuhai, Why We Get in Our Own Way: The Neuroscience (Substack)
full article → https://open.substack.com/pub/contemplationstation/p/why-we-get-in-our-own-way-the-neuroscience?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Why we get in our own way