#17: Howard Farkas - Self-Sabotage - why we undermine our own goals

IN THIS EPISODE: OK, just between you and me: have you ever done something that you knew you shouldn't, but you did it anyway? Even if you knew that doing it would get in the way of accomplishing something else that you really wanted? If we're being honest with ourselves, we've all probably done something that wasn't in our best interest, even though we knew better. That my friend, is self-sabotage.   Self sabotage is defined as unwanted behavior that undermines one's goals. That unwanted behavior can range from common things like procrastination (one I'm guilty of) to more extreme behavior like excessive drinking, risky sex or worse.  To try and understand why we sometimes behave in this counterproductive way, I reached out to today's guest, Dr. Howard Farkas. Howard's work with self-sabotage began when he observed repeated behavior patterns while working as a health psychologist in a hospital-based, medical weight-management program. He discovered that there was an internal conflict that was the source of these self-defeating behaviors. However, these insights on self-sabotage extend far beyond that experience and into other areas such as workplace culture, productivity, motivation, habit creation, and goal setting. This was a really an eye-opening conversation for me and I think you're going to get a lot out of it as well.  ABOUT OUR GUEST: Dr. Howard Farkas is a clinical psychologist based in Chicago. He is the founder and president of Chicago Behavioral Health, which in the past year has become a telehealth psychotherapy practice called Equipoise Teletherapy. He is also on the faculty of Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he teaches a course on Motivation and Self-control in Health Behavior. And he's the author of the book, 8 Keys to End Emotional Eating. SHOW NOTES: To connect with Howard: www.equipoiseteletherapy.com [email protected] https://www.linkedin.com/in/chicagobehavioralhealth/  Foundations for a Science of Personality by Andreas Angyal Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink INSIGHT AT WORK PODCAST THEME MUSIC: Our theme music is composed by Chris Lucca, Jr.. You can listen to more of Chris' work at http://chrisluccamusic.com  You can also connect with him on Twitter: @Flipluka and on Instagram: @_flipluka.music_ ABOUT THE HOST: Ken Blackwell is a speaker, trainer, facilitator and executive coach. His signature practice is "rescuing Accidental Leaders and Dysfunctional Teams". His firm InKlaritas, based in Princeton, NJ, works with teams and leaders in companies in the U.S. around the world. You can find out more about InKlaritas at: www.InKlaritas.com and connect with Ken on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethjblackwell/.