When Self-Sabotage Is Really an Execution Problem: Total Health Podcast
Self-sabotage is one of those labels that can sound explanatory long before it actually explains anything.
You know what you should do.
You intend to do it.
Then somehow you avoid it, delay it, overthink it or replace it with something else.
When I joined the Total Health Podcast, we talked about what I was then describing primarily as self-sabotage, emotional blocks and the role Brainspotting can play when someone repeatedly gets stuck.
My language around this work has become more precise since this episode was recorded.
Today I would not assume that every repeated avoidance pattern is evidence of a deep emotional block.
Sometimes the strategy is wrong. Sometimes the next action is unclear. Sometimes the workflow does not fit. Sometimes the expectation is unrealistic. And sometimes, after those things have been checked, there really is a persistent execution block.
That distinction is what makes this older conversation especially interesting to revisit now.
Self-Sabotage Describes the Pattern, Not Necessarily the Cause
When people say they are self-sabotaging, they are usually describing something real.
They keep doing something that interferes with a result they consciously want.
The mistake is assuming the label automatically tells us why.
It does not.
Avoidance can come from a bad plan, unclear expectations, poor timing, misalignment, lack of skill, fear of evaluation or a genuine execution block.
Those may look similar from the outside, but they do not need the same solution.
Knowing What to Do Does Not Guarantee Execution
One of the central ideas in this episode is the gap between understanding and action.
Most capable people who get stuck are not lacking information.
In fact, they may have more information than they need.
They have read the books.
Taken the course.
Written the plan.
Listened to the podcast.
And still the action does not happen.
That is why simply giving someone more strategy can sometimes create more activity without creating more execution.
Procrastination Can Be Highly Productive
Avoidance does not always look like sitting on the couch doing nothing.
It can look impressively productive.
You organize the files.
Rewrite the website.
Research another tool.
Clean the office.
Create another piece of content.
Every one of those actions may be legitimate.
The useful question is whether they repeatedly appear at exactly the moment you are supposed to do something else.
That pattern is often more informative than the individual task.
Brainspotting Entered My Work Because Strategy Was Not Always Enough
Brainspotting was a major part of how I was explaining my work when this interview was recorded.
I had experienced situations where people understood the practical solution, genuinely wanted the outcome and still encountered a strong interruption when they tried to act.
Brainspotting gave me a tool for working with that type of persistent response.
I still use it when the evidence supports an actual block.
What has changed is that I am much less interested in assuming the block exists before checking the practical variables first.
A Strong Emotional Reaction Is Information
The episode also discusses emotions and physical sensations that can appear around difficult actions.
Those reactions can be useful data.
But useful data is not the same as a diagnosis.
Feeling anxious before doing something does not automatically mean the action is wrong.
It also does not automatically mean there is a deep emotional wound underneath it.
The better question is what happens when the person actually attempts the action and whether the interruption persists after practical problems have been addressed.
My Own Business Made This Pattern Impossible to Ignore
Part of what shaped this work was my own experience of being extremely capable in some environments while becoming strangely ineffective around specific business actions.
That inconsistency mattered.
If someone truly lacks discipline or ability, the problem should show up everywhere.
But many high-performing people function beautifully in most areas of their lives and repeatedly stall in one narrow category.
Visibility.
Selling.
Following up.
Raising a price.
Publishing something.
Asking for an opportunity.
That selectivity is worth investigating.
What I Would Say Differently Today
The original episode description uses phrases such as hidden programming, emotional blocks and healing deep-rooted causes.
Those phrases reflect how I was talking about the work at the time.
Today I would start with a more practical diagnostic question:
“Where is execution actually breaking down?”
Before assuming there is an internal block, I want to know whether the strategy makes sense, whether the action is specific enough to execute and whether the method fits the person.
If those pieces are solid and the same action still repeatedly stops, then we have stronger evidence that something deeper may need to be addressed.
You Are Not Broken Because Something Keeps Stopping
The episode title includes a phrase that still fits my work very well:
“You’re not broken.”
Getting stuck does not tell us anything about your intelligence, worth, discipline or ability.
It tells us that something in the execution process needs to be examined.
The goal is not to shame the pattern or immediately assign a psychological explanation to it.
The goal is to identify what is actually interrupting action so we can use the right solution.
In This Episode We Discuss
- Why self-sabotage is often more complicated than it appears
- The difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it
- Why capable people can repeatedly avoid specific actions
- Productive procrastination and disguised avoidance
- Brainspotting and how Jennie was using it at the time
- Emotional and physical responses that appear around difficult actions
- Jennie’s background as a paramedic and how it shaped her perspective
- How Jennie’s own business struggles influenced her work
- Why being stuck does not mean someone is broken
- How Jennie’s current approach distinguishes practical execution problems from true execution blocks
Listen to the Full Episode
Listen to my full conversation on the Total Health Podcast: The Hidden Truth Behind Self-Sabotage: Why You’re Not Broken with Jennie Hays.
About Jennie Hays
Jennie Hays is an Execution Block Specialist, Brainspotting Practitioner and business coach for coaches, consultants and service-based entrepreneurs.
She helps capable people figure out why strategies they already understand are not consistently turning into action.
Her work distinguishes between a true execution block, a strategy that does not fit the person and a plan that is simply too vague or poorly structured to execute.
When an actual execution block is present, Jennie combines rapid block resolution and Brainspotting with practical business strategy and execution design to help clients return to clear, measurable action.
