You're probably hindering your own success at work, whether you realize it or not.

Nearly everyone falls victim to "self-handicapping bias," or the psychological tendency to under-prepare or undersell yourself during new opportunities, says workplace performance coach Henna Pryor.

"When we self-handicap, we essentially protect ourselves from the consequences of our own failure," Pryor tells CNBC Make It. "It safeguards our self-image and public perception because it lets us stay with what we know and avoid what could potentially go wrong."

Self-handicapping can can look like putting off prep for a big meeting or starting a presentation with "I'm bad at public speaking." You might also avoid challenging projects altogether.

Even high-performing employees self-handicap, Pryor says, and it's often driven by a fear of failure. That anxiety also "can erode motivation over time," if we start to get comfortable just doing the things we're good at, rather than stretching to try, and fail at, new things.  

"It's definitely not limited to entry-level [employees or people who] have impostor syndrome," she says. "For high performers, the goal post is always moving … when they go try that new thing or go to take that risk, more is at stake because they have a scope of wins behind them."

Luckily, there are ways to stop self-handicapping, Pryor says. All it takes is a little bit of practice.

Be aware of your habits and behavioral patterns

To stop self-handicapping, you first have to realize when, how and why you're doing it. Pryor says understanding those three things is like building any kind of awareness.

First, you have to educate yourself about the different types of self-handicapping to define it and recognize the behaviors in yourself and other people. "Success leaves clues," Pryor says. Use that knowledge to reflect on your past wins or failures and identify patterns.

You can also seek feedback from family and friends, she says. They've likely noticed self-sabotaging behaviors that you've missed.

Focus on building confidence

Self-handicapping is largely fueled by a lack of confidence: "You're less likely to feel the need to handicap — even if you're truly messing up — if your self-esteem is higher and you've worked on yourself," Pryor says.

Observe the way you talk to yourself, she advises. To get ahead, you have to believe you're worthy of new opportunities, even if you stumble.

Telling yourself otherwise can have consequences. "Sometimes we think that negative self-talk helps us to be motivated," Judy Ho, a neuropsychologist and professor at Pepperdine University told Make It in May.

"So, we beat ourselves up in our head thinking, 'Oh, this is going to motivate me.' But, actually, we just end up fulfilling a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Research also shows that self-compassionate people are quicker to bounce back after making a mistake.

Another way to build confidence: take action, even if it's small. If writing an entire report feels too complicated, start with an outline, she suggests. Checking a micro-goal off a list can help you from feeling stagnant.

"It takes a mental rewiring to start celebrating the process, not just the outcome," she says. "But confidence [doesn't fall] out of a tree and just wait for us. It's something that is the result of messy, aligned action steps."

Prioritize process over outcome

The bottom line is that self-handicapping occurs when you're afraid of making mistakes, Pryor says. Mistakes are inevitable, but often not as damaging to your career as holding yourself back.

That mindset can be hard for people, especially high performers, to adapt. All professionals started in school where they were praised — or scolded — based on report cards. It makes workers, at any phase of their career, feel that every outcome, however small, might last forever.

Prioritize the process instead, Pryor advises. Take time to reflect and gather feedback, but also understand that messiness, missteps and imperfections are usually steps on the path to success.

"We have to become experts in being uncomfortable," Pryor says.

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