I wonder if there is an evolutionary reason for men being more likely to self sabotage?
Fight only when it counts?
Me personally, I'm a touch too competitive.
I often choose not to participate rather then go all out.
For example, I used to play soccer, I jog every day but I have not played soccer in years, and then one day I'm invited to very friendly soccer game during lunch hour.
Cut to maybe 20 minutes before the end of the game, I had already torn damn near every muscle in my legs and my lower back was starting to hurt.
Slow down? Quit the game a bit early, nah push harder.
Just to speculate: Perhaps self-sabotage allows someone to maintain a high self-esteem ("I'm great at everything") while ignoring subjects which are difficult ("I'd be great at that, too, if it weren't for X").
This self-delusion has direct benefits; people with high self-esteem are more attractive. But it also makes it easier to ignore a pursuit, which perhaps encourages people to spend more time on fewer pursuits, and with greater enthusiasm. Such specialization may help a male stand out from other suitors.
A few years back, I signed up to be a counselor at a wilderness camp in Southwestern Colorado. Hiking. Climbing. Camping. Living in a log cabin without plumbing at 12,000 feet for three months. I was very much not in my element.
I had a great time. No one there knew me before, so there weren't any preconceived notions about who I was. It was liberating.
However I also was at the bottom of the "coolness" ladder among the counselors, because I had no background in the outdoorsy skills that "mattered" out there.
So doing things that I normally would shy away from was good for me. But yes, as you say, it screwed up my "game."
Fight only when it counts?
Me personally, I'm a touch too competitive. I often choose not to participate rather then go all out.
For example, I used to play soccer, I jog every day but I have not played soccer in years, and then one day I'm invited to very friendly soccer game during lunch hour.
Cut to maybe 20 minutes before the end of the game, I had already torn damn near every muscle in my legs and my lower back was starting to hurt. Slow down? Quit the game a bit early, nah push harder.
I'm still recovering.