Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 weeks ago4 Signs You're Self-Sabotaging Your Joy
People create obstacles to their success to avoid blame, preserve self-worth, and stay within familiar comfort zones.
Partying the night before a big exam. Preparing last-minute for a work presentation. Running a 5K in a 10-pound Halloween costume. All are examples of what psychologists call "self-handicapping" - creating obstacles to success to order to bolster or protect one's own reputation. "It's actually very common," said Yang Xiang, a psychology Ph.D. candidate in the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. "There have been many decades of work documenting this behavior."