The Saboteur Within

Recognizing Your Favorite Way to Ruin Your Own Momentum

You wouldn’t let anyone interrupt your stride.

You protect your calendar.

You defend your standards.

You outpace doubt with action.

But what happens when the block isn’t outside you?

What happens when the killer of your progress is you — not the loud, dramatic version, but the quiet, clever part that knows exactly how to slow you down without detection?

That’s your inner saboteur.

And every high-performer has one.

Self-Sabotage Isn’t Loud — It’s Subtle

Forget the trope of the obvious collapse.

Real sabotage is more refined.

It looks like:

• Taking on one extra project that “shouldn’t be a problem”… until it derails your primary goal.

• Skipping your strategic planning because you’ve “got momentum” — and watching clarity vanish two weeks later.

• Suddenly obsessing over a new, shinier path right as the current one starts working.

Sabotage doesn’t show up in chaos.

It shows up in clever misdirection.

You think you’re moving…

but you’re slipping.

Case Study: Gay Hendricks and The Big Leap

In The Big Leap, Gay Hendricks introduced the concept of the “Upper Limit Problem.”

It’s a subconscious ceiling — a limit to how much success, joy, or clarity you’re “allowed” to have.

Once you get close to that edge, the saboteur emerges:

• You pick fights.

• You get sick.

• You forget key details.

• You create friction where it isn’t needed.

Why?

Because the old version of you doesn’t know how to handle the altitude of the new one.

So it pulls the parachute.

And down you go.

We don’t sabotage because we’re weak.We sabotage because part of us fears we’re about to outgrow who we’ve always been.

How to Spot the Pattern Early

Every saboteur has a signature.

Here’s how to catch yours:

1. Track Your Peaks and Dips

   Look at your last three big wins.

   What happened right after?

   Did you slow down, get distracted, or create drama?

   
   

2. Name Your Favorite Flavor of Sabotage

   Everyone has one:

   • Procrastination disguised as research

   • Overcommitment disguised as generosity

   • Perfectionism disguised as standards

   • Cynicism disguised as intelligence

   
   

3. Create a Saboteur Map

   Write down:

   • The trigger: “When things start going well…”

   • The behavior: “I tend to…”

   • The false reward: “Because it gives me a sense of…”

Then rewrite the move.

Not with shame — but with strategy.

Build an Anti-Sabotage Reflex

Once you recognize the saboteur, you don’t fight it.

You bypass it.

Try this:

• Interrupt the Pattern: When the urge comes, pause. Name it out loud.

• Shift the Energy: Move physically — walk, run, stand. Change state before choosing.

• Re-anchor Identity: Ask, “What would the next-level version of me choose right now?”

That last question is the killer.

Because the saboteur is always trying to shrink you back into the version you’ve outgrown.

Progress Has a Cost. Don’t Pay It to Yourself.

You’ve worked too hard to get here.

Don’t let the final obstacle be the part of you that still fears what’s possible.

You don’t need to be perfect.

You don’t need to be fearless.

You just need to stay conscious of the moves that steal your sharpness.

If your sabotage is instinctive, your strategy must become instinctive too.

Train it.

Sharpen it.

Live above it.

Final Thoughts:

We all have a version of ourselves that fears the next level. That part isn’t the enemy — it’s a signal. A cue that you’re stepping into new air. Don’t argue with it. Don’t shrink for it. Just recognize it, name it, and choose from the version of you that’s already beyond it. That’s the beginning of real momentum.