During the past two plus decades of working with people, I’ve discovered many things about human behavior, but one of the most striking is how often the most creative, intelligent people get in their own way. Across the board, I have seen artists, business owners, graduate students and high-powered career people sabotage their own best efforts. It is such a common occurrence that of late, I’ve become a bit obsessed with the whole topic of self-sabotaging patterns.

Ironically, right when one pays attention to one specific issue, insights about it start cropping up everywhere. During a recent yoga class, for example, the instructor spoke about yoga as tricking the mind to break it free of self-limiting patterns. All religions, in one form or another address this issue, but especially eastern religions. Zen Koans come to mind as another technique of tricking or opening the mind.

The solution, of course, isn’t the same for everyone, however, there are clear cut ways to transcend these beliefs, along with a multitude of ways to work around them, overcome them, diminish them, etc. The key is find out what works for you—what trick will unblock you and propel you forward. It’s similar to an engine whose battery has died. Sometimes a jump start will work. Other times, a new battery is needed. Regardless, usually when we are really stuck, outside intervention is typically the only thing that will get us moving again.