From Self-Sabotage to Self-Mastery: The Mountain is You

Jun 26 (edited) in Self Improvement & Motivation

Do you feel like there’s a giant mountain between you and your best self? You’re not alone. This mountain isn’t just a metaphor – it’s a real obstacle formed by the collision of your conscious desires and unconscious fears. Let’s dive in and conquer this mountain and become the person you were meant to be.

Your Internal Mountain

Imagine two tectonic plates colliding to form a mountain. Your internal mountain is formed when your conscious goals collide with your unconscious needs. We’ve all been there:

You commit to a healthier diet but find yourself in the drive-through days later.
You’ve wanted to study for your exam but keep putting it off and playing games and scrolling on TikTok?

This isn’t just about lack of willpower. It’s about an internal conflict that grows the longer we ignore it. The stakes are high: if we don’t face our mountain, change will be forced upon us, and often in ways far more painful than if we’d initiated the change ourselves.

This internal conflict leads to self-sabotage. We say we want to change but unconsciously we fear that very change. The longer we let this inner conflict go on the bigger our internal mountain gets.

Your Mountain

Life isn’t just about surviving. It’s about evolving, changing and becoming the best version of ourselves. To start this journey try this:

Find a quiet space.
Ask yourself: “What change do I resist the most?”
Pay attention to your body. What change creates the most tension?

That’s your starting point. It’s likely connected to a painful experience from your past.

Overcoming Self-Sabotage

To overcome self-sabotage we need to dig deep:

Focus on the tension in your body.
Ask it: “Where did you come from?”
Let memories surface – they might be about failure or embarrassment.

These beliefs are like invisible weights pulling you back down your mountain. To release them:

Close your eyes and go back to that painful experience.
Sit next to your past self at the moment of peak emotional pain.
Tell your younger self everything will get better.
Help them see the good that will come from this.

This will allow your younger self to fully feel and process the experience and release the limiting beliefs holding you back.

Body Emotions

Emotions are physical. When not felt they get stuck in our bodies. To release them:

Try during physical exercise.
While sweating (on a stationary bike), close your eyes and imagine your past self letting go of the negative.

Asking Your Future Self for Guidance

Now that you’ve released some weight, it’s time to plan your ascent. Here’s a visualization exercise:

Get a notebook and somewhere quiet.
Close your eyes and imagine a bright room with a table and two chairs.
Sit in one chair and have your highest potential future self join you.
That’s the version of you who has already achieved what you’re looking for.
Open your eyes and write to this future self.
Then write the answers you think they would give.

This taps into your subconscious wisdom and all the insights and patterns you’ve been collecting your whole life.

Make this visualization a daily habit and you’ll feel like you’re merging with your future self and have the confidence to step into the unknown.

Micro Shifts to Maintain Momentum

Change is uncomfortable. Our minds play tricks on us—we feel great when we declare a change but terrible when we try to do it. That’s not failure; that’s growth.

Micro shifts are the key:

Start small: Change one thing in one meal, just once.
Repeat that small change twice more.
Before you know it, you’ve got a new habit.

When you catch yourself mindless scrolling, make a three-second shift towards your goal. Those tiny actions add up and take you way beyond your comfort zone.

As you get further, you might want to go back to your old life. That’s normal, but you must commit to letting your old self die along with any habits that hold you back.

Your Mountain, Your Purpose

Wiest ends with this powerful message: the mountain in front of you is your life’s work, your reason for being here. One day that mountain will be behind you, but who you become climbing it will stay with you forever.

Change is not about the destination; it’s about who you become along the way. So, love your mountain because it’s the path to yourself.

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