Sick and tired of being sick and tired?

Or perhaps you're addicted to suffering?

If you can find yourself suffering through one of these 12 self-sabotaging scenarios, you’re not alone. Here’s what we do to stay miserable... or change!

NEVER BE SELFISH (with a capital S)

Forget being the most important person in your life. Be a doormat instead. Definitely don’t bother expressing how you feel… life is guaranteed to be miserable when you don’t put yourself first. Be sure you ignore your intuition too! If you want daily eruptions of all sizes and in various proportions say "yes" when you mean "no" and "no" when you mean "yes"… nothing creates more chaos!

AVOID & PRETEND (The Ostrich Syndrome)

Avoiding your problems and pretending they don’t exist are sure-fire ways to stay miserable and max out emotionally. Stick your head in the sand and get ready for a swift kick from behind… agony will reach unexpected heights… so go ahead, keep denying your true feelings. The exasperation is gut wrenching… don’t miss out!

BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.

F.E.A.R. has become an acronym for: False Expectations Appearing Real. Threatening thoughts gain power from not facing them… so clutch them tightly and increase fear’s death-grip on your life. Those frazzled nerves and knee-jerk reactions make you an excellent candidate for being one of misery’s finest citizens!

LIE.

Lying to yourself or others quadruples worthlessness. Individuals who use lying as an option do not believe they are valuable enough to tell the truth. You won’t ever feel safe or trust anybody either. The constant upheaval from always watching your back keeps you walking on eggshells and is guaranteed to keep your stomach tied in knots. Now that’s entertainment!

DEFEND YOURSELF.

Refuse to take responsibility for your reactionary or defensive nature and you’ll never have to be honest about why things bug you. Stay puffed up, don’t forget to scowl and remain brittle instead. There’s nothing more miserable than walking around wounded… like one big sore spot. Give it a try!

RATIONALIZE, ANALYZE.

It’s a sure bet any time you are rationalizing or analyzing you are thinking. Thinking means you’re not feeling and not feeling means you are stuffing emotions somehow, someway. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. When feelings are stuffed trouble multiplies exponentially. You can’t think emotions away, but give it a try anyway. You’ll look smart and can certainly rationalize what you did!

POINT FINGERS.

When you point one finger at others, you ignore the three pointing back at you. This little trick keeps you from taking any responsibility and allows you to be terminally dependent on blame. Refusing to be held accountable is a perfect way to drag out suffering for eons. And isn’t that what being miserable is about? Forget you are the one who is seeing it, feeling it and hearing it… keep that index finger armed and cocked, ready to point at anybody but yourself!

MANIPULATE.

Manipulating others or yourself guarantees dissatisfaction. Nobody wins. It’s dishonest, underhanded and slimy. A shaky foundation guarantees the castle you’ve built won’t stand. Want wonderful reminders of what it took to get what you wanted? Manipulate like crazy… you’ll never stop feeling discouraged or dejected. Isn’t that great?

WALLOW IN GUILT.

Guilt is anger you refuse to own or don’t believe is justified; the kind you try to brush aside and pretend doesn’t matter. Pay close attention to this one… it’s one of the most effective ways of all to slowly destroy your life and master misery, because it’s so subtle. When ignored, those heavy ingrained feelings of duty, obligation and responsibility relentlessly gnaw away at you… and like termites, they silently take over. Cheer up… there’s bound to be a collapse before long!

GET MAD, RESENT, THEN BLAME!

One of the most powerful ways to single-handedly ruin your life is to hang on to anger and resentment. Then blame everybody else in your life for your problems and be a perpetual victim. Justify your rage, keep projecting your junk onto the world and withdraw. Utter misery is yours for the taking. Clever tactic isn’t it… an opportunity too good to be true!

WORRY.

Worrying is a slick move that thrives on itself and keeps you trapped in an endless time-warp. It’s a crafty cover up for feeling helpless… by offering a false sense of control, massive amounts of speculation are used to legitimately pick things apart. Yet most assuredly, worry does nothing more than constantly strengthen doubts and insecurities. Life becomes a paranoia-filled guessing game. And everyone loves games!

PLAY IT SAFE.

You can’t embrace life at its fullest if you don’t risk. Not risking is indisputably and unmistakably the best way to stay the same… a grand excuse to be a slug, lie about what is not working in life and circumvent trying anything new. Never risking basically leaves you feeling alone, empty and wondering why you are here… free to live a dreary, mundane existence. Here’s a good motto, "I won’t risk, so I can’t exist!"

It’s easy to get caught up in cycles of self-sabotage and live at the effect of life. It takes courage to excuse yourself from the pity party and identify the patterns that no longer serve you. Replace them one by one, with actions you will find in this issue that empower you to be who you really are - magnificent, extraordinary and powerful!