Your Own Worst Enemy Part I

One of my favorite things is going to the library… I know nerd alert!  I was definitely the kid that got excited about the summer reading list.  A lot of times I will just wander around a section that I’m interested in until I see a book title that jumps out to me.  Ever since my post on Finding Motivation, I’ve been thinking about why some people are more successful than others at changing unhealthy lifestyle behaviors… the book Your Own Worst Enemy by Kenneth Christian, Ph.D. really struck my attention in the “Motivation” area of the library.  I decided to give it a read and see if I can possible learn something that can help me help people that are resistant to change.

What an eye opener… and I’m only through chapter 4 at this point.  The first section of the book (Chapters 1-3) discusses identifying your problems and/or weaknesses.  The central theme is that many people exhibit “self-limiting behavior” which is day by day habits that appear harmless but over time negatively impact their lives.  An example of “self-limiting behavior” would be to not live up to your full potential by taking an easy, unchallenging job that overtime becomes unfulfilling. The author describes many people who do not take risks due to fear of failure.  

“Habitual Underachieving” is described as

• taking short cuts
• planning and talking about things but never following through on them
• difficulty organizing work, life, etc.
• procrastination
• keeping your options open by postponing serious commitments
• periods of depression
• blaming failure on “bad luck” or other people instead of accepting responsibility

“Touching bottom has a way of either bringing clarity and a riveting sense of purpose or self-absorption, self-pity, and frozenness… Be careful with regret. Learn from it, but avoid indulging in it.”

The first step of change is identifying a problem or need for change. Stay tuned for Your Own Worst Enemy Part II which focuses on the process of changing.