Sabotage

Download this episode | Open Player in New Window

Am I throwing a wooden shoe in my own works?

Episode Script
sabotage |ˈsabəˌtä zh |
verb [ trans. ]
to deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct

There is a story about this word, that it came to be used in conjunction with labor disputes. It seems the striking workers would damage machinery by throwing old shoes into it. And, as sabot is a 13th word for wooden shoe, the story seems to fit.

But I am most fascinated with self-sabotage. Those times at which we deliberately destroy, damage or obstruct our own progress. Sometimes one goal gets in the way of another. At one time in my life I played quite a bit of cards. But as I grew older and little more stable,  my goal of getting a good night’s sleep and being coherent the next day sabotaged my world-series of poker dreams.

But there is another form of self-sabotage. Much more subtle and insidious. It’s the strange subconscious kind. Where you set out to do something, but realize that you are actually getting in your own way.

For example, I put a tremendous amount of effort into the podcast, yet I put almost no effort into promoting the podcast. I haven’t done a new promo in 2 years. This has to be self-sabotaging. To say nothing of pretty stupid.

Perhaps I will never fathom my inner workings. And I’m not sure I want to,  But I can fix this promo problem. And I can do it right now. I’ve done a new promo and reworked the old ones. And here they are. Please spread them far and wide by any means at your disposal.

Please Sabotage my self-sabotaging tendencies.

PROMOS:

Rusty Bender
I Died
Zombie Spelling
Brains