Here’s a question: what drives us to do things that seem self-defeating or self-destructive?
Now obviously, this isn’t a question that has a single simple answer. There are lots of reasons why we do things that aren’t in our own best interest. Some of which are more obvious than others.
We might be numbing ourselves to avoid feeling discomfort, or honoring a hidden agenda of self-protection that is in opposition to our stated goals and “best interest”.
However, I think there’s another common reason why we do this that’s less talked-about: you might be forcing yourself to do too many things you don’t want to do and not allowing enough time to do the things you really want to do.
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In Martha Beck’s book, Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
You can watch her describe these two selves and their relationship in this hilarious video. (It’s one of my favorite things on the internet).
The idea is that as we go about or grown-up, responsible, adult lives these two selves come into conflict with each other.
The social self tells us to get up or we’ll be late for work when our alarm goes off in the morning but our essential self is tired and wants to go back to sleep so we compromise and hit snooze for 10 more minutes.
At 11 am the essential self wants to buy a cookie but we’re on a diet so our social self buys us a grapefruit instead.
By 3 pm the essential self is ready to pack up and head home for the day but the social self tells us firmly that we aren’t allowed to leave for two more hours. The work day isn’t over yet.
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If you are like me, your natural inclination is to follow the rules, to march along to the dictates of your employers and institutions, and to brush off your essential self’s desires all day long.
Particularly for those of us who are high-achievers, setting aside the social self’s dictates in order to follow the essential self’s whims can feel intensely dangerous and uncomfortable.
Our academic and professional success seems to have hinged upon our ability to set aside our own needs and wishes in order to dedicate ourselves to achieving someone else’s priority (a teacher, a boss, a parent).
However, there’s a hidden cost to treating our essential selves this way.
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What happens is I get home at 6 and I’m exhausted but I haven’t had any fun yet today so my essential self stages a revolt. Instead of going to bed, which would be reasonable under the circumstances, I find myself watching silly videos on YouTube until past my usual bedtime.
At the end of the night neither self is happy.
The social self is spiraling in a guilt trip and envisioning how dreadful work will be tomorrow when I’m tired. The essential self isn’t satisfied because the fun it got wasn’t what it was really craving and it’s busy sulking about how the only time we get to have fun is when we’re too tired to have fun anyways.
The solution, as best I can figure, is to treat your essential self to the real fun it craves during the day when you have the energy to play.
Maybe you need to pull out your journal at 3pm and noodle for a bit when your essential self feels ready to call it quits.
Maybe you need to go for a walk outside on your lunch break instead of eating at your desk and then returning immediately to work.
Maybe you need to take every second Friday off in order to let your essential self roam free for a day.
Only your essential self can tell you what you need to do.
But if you have a history of “self-sabotaging” behaviors and nothing you’ve tried to date has worked I’d encourage you to try consulting with your essential self and identifying some treats you can give to yourself throughout the day.
Until your essential self is satisfied there’s always going to be a war going on inside you. And it’s so much easier to get on with things when both your selves are on the same side.
Much love,
Jessica
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