7 Ways To Overcome Self-Sabotage As An Online Marketer
The number one reason aspiring online marketers fail isn’t that they didn’t have the right product or reach the right audience, although both of those are crucial, too.
I believe the number one reason new marketers fail is because of self-sabotage. The inner critic loves to play games with us and mess with our minds, and if we’re not vigilant, we’ll begin to believe these seeds of doubt that tell us we’re not good enough or intelligent enough to build our businesses.
Here are five ways to keep yourself on track and prevent your subconscious mind from self-sabotaging your efforts.
1: Stop comparing yourself to others.
There’s that marketer on Facebook who turns everything he touches into gold. He never makes a mistake, never loses a dime, and makes money hand over fist.
Everyone has to go through a learning curve. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone is human. This is why you shouldn’t believe everything you see on social media. People want to project a distorted image of themselves to make themselves feel better about their own lives and make you feel like you don’t measure up.
When you stop comparing yourself to others and instead focus on your personal growth and the growth of your business, it no longer matters that Joe Marketer is supposedly earning a quintillion dollars per second while you’re only making a thousand dollars a week.
2: Focus on the things that matter the most.
Most of the distractions you’re facing are just trivial bits of debris that will derail your progress if you let them.
When you get up in the morning, see if you can set everything aside that isn’t important to your business. Spend the first hours working on your business and leave everything else for later in the day.
Doing the critical stuff first is crucial to your success. If you spend most of the day focusing on things that don’t matter, by the time you get around to working on your business, you’ll be too worn out to get anything done.
3: Remember why you’re building your business.
Why is it you want a business of your own? More time with family? So you can quit your job? More money? A better house, car, and life? More travel time?
Whatever it is, remind yourself repeatedly of why you are building your business and what your life will be like when it is successful.
Spend a few minutes every day envisioning what your life will be like when your business is earning you the money you seek. Imagine it’s already happening. See it, feel it, experience it as though it’s a present time fact and not a future projection.
The more natural it is to you, the easier it will be for you to stay focused.
4: Love yourself.
That’s right, I said it. Love yourself. Most people find this step extremely difficult. Maybe they’ve been told all their lives that they’re not worthy of love, but if they don’t love themselves, then they’re not going to believe they are worthy of accomplishing their goals.
How do you love yourself? Look in the mirror and say, “I love you.” Go ahead and try it right now.
If you’re balking, you’re not alone. Appreciating yourself for who you are and loving yourself doesn’t come easy for most people, but the rewards can be mighty.
As you fall asleep each night, repeat this mantra: “I love myself.” Try it. I promise it won’t hurt, and you might be surprised at how well you sleep and how much better you feel when you wake up.
5: Exercise every single day
Unless you are injured, make sure you get exercise every single day. No amount of caffeine is a substitute for moving your body.
Exercise helps you be more creative, think better, remember more, be more productive, and be happier and healthier.
6: Use strategies to overcome avoidance and procrastination
Prioritize the important stuff and do it first, before everything else.
If you’re having trouble getting started, break down the task into small steps and take the first step right away.
If you’re distracted by social media, shut off the phone and take your computer offline.
Get an accountability partner and hold each other accountable.
Make a bet with someone close to you that you will do something you hate doing if you don’t get your to-do list done this week.
Whatever it is that slowing you down causes you to procrastinate or otherwise get in the way, it’s up to you to find a strategy to end the avoidance and procrastination.
7: Embrace self-doubt.
This might sound not very clear, but if you want to end self-sabotage, then embracing self-doubt is paradoxically an excellent way to do it.
When I say “self-doubt,” I don’t mean low self-esteem. Low self-esteem means that you’re not worthy or a failure, and you need to find a way to rid yourself of those thoughts.
But self-doubt is different. Every successful person has had to deal with self-doubt, and they’ve been better because of it.
When you’re not sure you’re doing something the best way, or you’re not confident you’ve chosen the right product for your audience, or you’re questioning anything about your business, you look for alternatives. You investigate to see if you’re on the right path, and you make course corrections based on what you discover.
Self-doubt can drive you to be better at what you do, go the extra mile, or put in the extra hours to truly create your best work.
Self-doubt will tell you when to seek help, advice, or support. Other people can give us experience and alternative solutions we haven’t even considered.
Self-doubt allows you to consider alternative plans and find the best way to accomplish your goals.
And self-doubt can even take you away from your business long enough to relax, think, dream, read and plan so that when you come back to your company the next day, you are full of new energy, ideas, and solutions.
