meeting your inner saboteur
This post is a continuation of a 5-part series on intuition.
Start at the beginning: [Part 1: What Is Intuition?]
Missed last week? [Part 2: Discerning Intuition from Anxiety]
Meeting the Saboteur Within
One of the biggest hurdles to trusting our intuition is learning to recognize our Inner Saboteur.
This archetypal energy lives in all of us — an internal, unconscious protective mechanism that activates whenever we have the opportunity to empower ourselves or someone else.
You’ve met this energy before. Maybe it shows up as:
• Procrastination
• Self-doubt
• Endless excuses — “I can’t… it won’t work… I’m not ready…”… “Why bother, it won’t work out anyway.”
The Saboteur isn’t here to punish us. It is the masterful course-corrector, the wise boot-thrower.
Its disruptions invite us to pay attention, take responsibility, and awaken to what truly matters.
The Story of “Sabotage”
The word sabotage comes from a fascinating history. In the 16th–17th centuries, factory workers in Europe were suffering harsh conditions — low pay, long hours, unsafe environments. They wanted change, but felt powerless to create it.
So in desperation, they would throw their sabots (wooden shoes) into the machinery to stop production.
It may have looked counterproductive — grinding everything to a halt. But it forced attention. It created a pause. It demanded change.
Not destruction for the sake of destruction…but disruption as protection and possibility.
Our inner Saboteur works the same way. We “throw our own sabots” through:
• Procrastination
• Self-limiting beliefs
• Avoiding what we deeply want
• Choosing what keeps us small
Not because we’re lazy. Because something in us is signaling:
“Pause. Something needs attention. Something here wants to change.”
A Real-Life Example:
I don’t know about you, but the Saboteur often shows up when I’m trying something new or engaging in something out of my comfort zone. For me, my Saboteur most often throws a boot through procrastination.
The most recent example of this has been studying for my BodyTalk training. I’ve been so excited about this new modality, and have been working hard all year completing my courses, fulfilling practice session requirements, and moving toward certification.
And yet, there was one part I kept pushing aside — ST U D Y I N G - memorizing charts, procedures, and protocols. I love all the practical work I’m doing, and am 90% done with my certification - all that is left is to take my exams.
I had been putting off memorizing the giant textbook and detailed charts because it felt daunting, almost impossible. For months, I told myself,
“I’m not good at memorization.
I’ve got too much brain fog.
It’s too much right now.”
I procrastinated, distracted myself, pushed studying aside, and let my dream be stalld. But finally, I stopped and asked myself: What’s really happening here?
Deep down, I knew the fear wasn’t really about memorization. Finally, a few weeks ago, I allowed myself to INVESTIGATE. I brought up the topic of my memorization anxiety in my own Bodytalk session.
And what came up was a long-held fear, a long-held belief:
“It’s never my time. I won’t succeed. This will never work out for me. Things I work hard for won’t fully come to life.”
I let myself sit with that fear, that anxiety, noticed all the lies under the surface, that I wasn’t smart enough, intuitive enough, that I’d fail, that I shouldn’t even bother trying.
My saboteur had been quietly nudging me with procrastination- to wake up, something needs to change!! And then truth emerged—how heavy and untrue that belief really was.
Facing this long-held fear head-on was liberating. It reminded me that the Saboteur isn’t my enemy—she’s a guide. The disruption was asking me to pause, notice, and choose differently: to remember my capacity for learning, to take action that I longed to take, and trust in my ability to succeed.
Sitting with that revealed how untrue — and how outdated — that belief really is.
Why the Saboteur Shows Up
The Saboteur is not trying to ruin things. They are trying to protect us from disappointment, rejection, failure.
But the shadow side of protection is paralysis.
This energy is intimately connected to self-esteem.
To trust our intuition…
we must trust ourselves.
We’ll explore the role of self-esteem more next week.
For now — the key is awareness without judgment.
Every disruption is an invitation to wake up.
The Saboteur asks:
“Will you stay small? Or will you expand into who you’re becoming?”
Reflective Prompts
• Where is procrastination showing up in your life right now?
• What deeper fear might be hidden under your avoidance?
• How could your Saboteur be trying to wake you up?
Share anything that arises in the comments — I’d love to hear how this lands for you. ✨
Want Support in Working With Your Saboteur?
A BodyTalk session can help reveal the beliefs, blocks, and energetic patterns driving sabotage beneath the surface — and support your system to shift them.
If you’re curious:
🔗 Book a BodyTalk Session
or
🔗 Learn More About Mini Intuitive Sessions
You don’t have to navigate this inner terrain alone.
I’d be honoured to walk with you.
-Ramona
