There are lots of ways to be self-destructive.

Most excesses will do it. Smoking, drinking, dieting, eating and even too much moderation is a killer. Ask those folks who retired a while back, and have nothing to do, but keep occupied.

There are also subtle means of self-destructing, as well. A lot of these show up at work, because apart from sitting in front of the TV, that's where most of us spend our waking hours.

Do you know any folks who just can't hold down a job? They always seem to be victims of one bad boss after another?

What about people that suddenly have it too good? They landed in a situation where they're flush with money and then they blow it, like so many lottery winners.

Or those folks who have a great 401k plan, a cozy relationship with their employer, and a fairly decent track record of success. Then, they do something utterly bizarre, like boosting the company's aquarium from the receptionist's area, or padding their expense accounts precisely at the time the travel and entertainment auditors descend from the corporate office.

We're all capable of doing stupid things.

I was being interviewed for Dateline NBC at a radio station where I had a talk show, and that very morning, when jogging in the park, I stumbled in a hole in the field, and severely broke my foot.

Hobbling into the station an hour later, I did the interview, all the while containing grimaces, undoubtedly seeing the dark cloud lurking in every "silver lining" question.

While it was my custom to jog, might it have been more prudent to do it AFTER the program?

I'm enough of a Freudian to summon to mind his famous aphorism: "There are no accidents!"

Most of the time, we have a chance to stop ourselves before we're about to pull the plug on our career progress or say something disastrous. If we can just make it another minute, holding our breath if necessary, until the passion to screw-up passes, we'll usually be all right.

It's no use, as I see it, to ask where these tendencies come from, because I don't think it really matters. What does count is using our willpower to change the course of events for the better, so at least occasionally we can stop being our worst enemy, stepping up to be our best friend, instead.