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Chapter 8 · 0.5 min · from The Laws of Human Nature

Change Your Circumstances by Changing Your Attitude

Chapter summary from The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene.

More by Robert Greene

The Law of Self-sabotage

Many people build their own traps, then blame fate. They repeat the same choices, seek the same conflicts, and call the results “bad luck.” Often the sabotage comes from fear: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of exposure, fear of losing control.

A negative attitude narrows perception. It makes you interpret neutral events as threats and small obstacles as proof the world is against you. Then you behave defensively, and your defensiveness creates the very resistance you feared.

The shift is internal but practical: adopt an expansive attitude that treats setbacks as data, not identity. When you stop feeding the drama of your own limitations, your behavior changes—then your results follow.

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