The Costco Hotdog Story: What Your Self-Sabotage Is Really Trying to Tell You

A participant in our latest round of Authentic You shared this story during one of our sessions, and it really stuck with us. It’s the perfect example of how we self-sabotage, keeping ourselves stuck instead of advancing.

She was at Costco, cart full of groceries, successfully navigating the maze of bulk everything without getting sucked into buying a 96-pack of batteries she didn't need. She was feeling pretty accomplished.

Then, on her way out, she stopped at the food court… and ordered the giant hotdog combo.

The same hotdog combo that always—always—makes her feel gross afterward. The one she actively avoids because she knows how her body responds to it. The one she's sworn off for years. 

But there she was, standing in line, knowing full well what was about to happen.

"I ate the whole thing," she told our group, laughing at herself. "And then spent the rest of the day feeling exactly as terrible as I knew I would."

The Thing About Self-Sabotage

We've all been there. Maybe your version isn't the Costco hotdog. Maybe it's:

• Staying up scrolling your phone when you're already exhausted (guilty)

• Saying yes to plans when you desperately need a quiet weekend

• Picking fights with your partner when things are going really well

• Procrastinating on the project you actually care about (double guilty)

The patterns are different, but the feeling is the same: Why did I do that when I knew better?

Here's what we've learned from years of personal growth activities (and plenty of our own Costco hotdog moments): our self-sabotage usually isn't random. There’s a reason for it, and if you can find out what that is, you’ll have new information to work from. 

What Your Inner Rebel Is Really Saying

When we act against our own best interests, there's often something deeper happening:

Sometimes it's rebellion. Maybe you've been "good" for so long that part of you just needs to push back. To prove that you're not a robot following optimization rules. To remind yourself that you get to choose, even if the choice isn't perfect.

Sometimes it's testing. When we try to level up, we often self-sabotage in order to keep ourselves “safe.” Your subconscious might be checking: "Do I really want this new way of being? How committed am I to this change? What happens if I mess up?"

Sometimes it's grief. Choosing the hotdog might be your way of saying goodbye to an old version of yourself. The version who didn't worry about how food made her feel. The version who lived more spontaneously, consequences be damned.

Sometimes it's overwhelm. When everything else in your life feels carefully controlled and optimized, that hotdog represents pure, uncomplicated pleasure. No planning required. No thinking ahead. Just... simple (but with serious consequences after the fact!)

When we dug into the Costco hotdog story, we realized that it had a lot to do with a pressure build-up in her life. She'd been so focused on making "perfect" choices—the right meals, the right schedule, the right self-care—that her system was desperate for permission to just choose something because she wanted it. Even if it wasn't optimal.

The hotdog wasn't the problem. The pressure to be constantly optimized was.

A Different Way Forward

Here's the thing we've discovered: the goal isn't to eliminate every "imperfect" choice through sheer willpower. That just adds more pressure, the very thing that might be driving the pattern in the first place.

Instead, what if you could design a life that has space for both intentional choices and the occasional rebellion? What if your routines and habits were flexible enough to accommodate the human need for spontaneity without derailing everything else?

This is exactly what we explore in our programs. Not how to become a perfectly disciplined person (because honestly, who wants that?), but how to understand your patterns well enough so that even your "messy" choices come from awareness rather than unconscious reaction.

Whether it's in our Authentic You program, where you spend six weeks getting curious about who you are when no one's watching, or our Habits & Routines Reset Workshop, where we help you build rhythms that actually work with your personality instead of against it—the approach is the same: curiosity over judgment, awareness over perfection.

Because sometimes the most authentic choice is the one that doesn't look perfect from the outside. And sometimes, honestly, the hotdog is just really good.