creating obstacles and excuses for ourselves, so that if we do poorly on a task, we have ready-made excuses

Actions that people take to sabotage their performance and enhance their opportunity to excuse anticipated failure.

Behaviors designed to sabotage one's own performance in order to provide a subsequent excuse for failure.

A self-protective strategy in which one arranges for an obvious, and nonthreatening obstacle to one's own performance, such that any failure can be attributed to the obstacle and not to one's own limitations.

Self-handicapping is defined as "any action or choice of performance setting that enhances the opportunities to externalize failure and to internalize success." It was first theorized by Edward E. Jones and Steven Berglas.