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Self-sabotage is a universal human quality. At times, everyone indulges in some form of self-destructive behaviour[1]. Such a behaviour could range from avoidance and procrastination for an approaching deadline to perfectionism or negative self-talk[2]. Various factors, including fear of failure/success and impostor syndrome, could contribute towards this direction[2]. However, there is a distinction between individual self-sabotage instances and recurrent behavioural patterns that perpetuate self-destruction.
For this blog post, I want to focus on the latter. Self-sabotage as an established behavioural pattern. Being stuck in a self-imposed vicious cycle, making choices after choices that hinder success. Of course, this is something that does not (always) happen consciously[1]. As is it, in many cases, a quality that is closely related to either not knowing better or not having any other choice. In a way, it is closely related to helplessness. After all, in the notion of helplessness, the person is not able to do otherwise. In self-sabotage, however, there may be alternatives to break the cycle, even if they might not be accessible to the individual.
Nowhere left to go, nothing left to do
Round Table, Choe U-Ram, 2022
[installation, kinetic sculpture]
"Round Table" is a kinetic sculpture installation where a table is supported by 18 “headless” creatures. The creatures have the ability to move in the vertical axis -either getting up or sitting down- thereby causing the table to tilt in different directions. On top of the table lies a ball, which is described as the “head”[3] that is missing from the creatures. The objective is clear: each creature wants to receive the head· which is why they get up when the head approaches towards their position. However, this causes the ball to roll towards the opposite direction, perpetuating in this way their struggle.
This behaviour also illustrates an aspect of self-sabotage, one that is closely intertwined with helplessness. In this case, the creatures are left with no other choice but to self-sabotage. Their goal is to get the head and the only way to do it is by physically getting up when the head approaches. Still, this is the exact reason why their struggle is eternal. It is this very action that moves the head away.
img 1.(right) Photo of the kinetic sculpture installation by Choe U-Ram "Round Table" (2022)
image retrieved from: https://canadianartjunkie.com/2023/01/15/kinetic-round-table/
What if I actually succeed?
The Helpless Robot, Norman White, 1987-2002
[interactive artwork]
image retrieved from:
https://agnes.queensu.ca/explore/collections/object/the-helpless-robot/
"The Helpless Robot" is a cybernetic, static creature that requires human interaction in order to achieve its goal. The robot needs to move, yet it is not able to move by itself, so it asks the audience to assist it by rotating it. However, there is a difference in the way the robot behaves in relation to whether people are actually being helpful or not. To begin with, the creature is being friendly, but the more cooperative and helpful the person interacting with it is, the more aggressive and dictatorial the creature gets in the way it expresses itself[4].
This change in behaviour reflects the quality of self-sabotage. The robot’s goal is to be rotated in a specific manner and it needs help to do so. Yet, when people actually engage and attempt to aid it, the robot becomes aggressive, discouraging the audience from engaging further. It is stuck in a vicious cycle where its own actions hinder its success. Maybe the robot is afraid of success. As things are, it has a goal: to move. But what if it actually accomplishes it? Then, what?
Of course, the element of helplessness is also prevalent in the sense that the robot is not physically able to rotate by itself in the way that it needs to. It is dependent on other people succeed. Nonetheless, it is the behaviour of the robot itself, its aggressiveness when being helped, that reflects the self-sabotage aspect of the creature.
img 2.(left) Photo of the interactive artwork by Norman White "The Helpless Robot"(1987-2002)
The missing piece
The missing piece is thought of as a self-sabotaging cube, as a hesitant creature that hinders its success by its own actions. It is the last component needed for a structure to be complete. For the observer, there is no doubt that this cube is the missing piece that would complete the structure. Still, this creature does not fulfil the task to become part of the structure. Instead, it overthinks, it procrastinates, it spins around itself and it does not take the leap to go to its destination.
At times, it takes some steps towards the structure, but then gets afraid and backs down. At other moments, it starts approaching the structure, but it is not perfectly aligned with where it needs to go and returns to its original place. Physically, there is no obstacle between the cube and the structure, as is there no physical limitation that would obstruct the creature from fulfilling its purpose. Nevertheless, the fear of failure, along with the agony of success overtake and the cube is found in an endless loop of self-doubt and self-sabotage· a self-imposed vicious cycle.
References
[1] LaGuardia-LoBianco, A. W. (2019). Self-Saboteurs and Ethical Relationships. Social Theory and Practice. 45(2), 249-285. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45219131
[2] Insights Psychology. (2025, February 27). Why Do We Self-sabotage? The Psychology Behind Destructive habits. Insights Psychology. Retrieved November 6, 2025, from https://insightspsychology.org/self-sabotage-psychology-destructive-habits/
[3] Bernes, S. (2025, May 28). Kinetic Round Table Has 18 Headless Straw Figures Fighting for One Rolling Head. My Modern Met. Retrieved November 6, 2025, from https://mymodernmet.com/choe-u-ram-round-table-kinetic-sculpture/
[4] Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University. (n.d.) White, Norman T.: The Helpless Robot: 1987-2002. Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University. Retrieved November 6, 2025, from https://agnes.queensu.ca/explore/collections/object/the-helpless-robot/
banner image retrieved from: https://havingtime.com/4-simple-ways-to-break-a-vicious-cycle/
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