How do you cope with fear of success?...


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Fear of Success is...

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...like eating a tasty, well-prepared meal with your hands tied behind your back:

It takes much longer for you to eat the meal,
You most likely make a mess,
And you will probably never ever want to eat again (even though it's necessary for your growth).

:-)

Well, you can kind of see where I'm coming from there. (I hope.)

If not, this is how Jeanne May summarises this fear (and the issues involved) in her article (below):

"Fear of success is real! For those who have [it], achievement of any real success in life is difficult and unlikely. [...] How do you explain [this fear] to those who don't experience it?..."

And jeanne May's article explains more, and I also give some success fear examples too...

I'd love to know what you think about this fear - please get in touch!

Success fear - what I say...

Oh boy, I've been looking forward to talking about this fear almost since I had the idea for this website in February 2008 (read my site diary, should you be interested). I mean, how can anyone fear 'success'? It just sounds crazy, doesn't it, and yet... fear of success is very real.

Let me give you some 'success fear' examples:

There's the perpetual dieter who loses pounds and pounds of weight (success!) only to put it all on again straight afterwards (success fear!)
There's the man who, after a few months of diligence on the internet dating site, meets a suitable woman (success!) only for him to find fault with this woman within weeks, and for him to then have to start all over again (success fear!)
There's the business owner who creates their own business (success!) but doesn't let it grow, through lack of vision or ambition (success fear!) - this is one (of many) reasons why people struggle to succeed with their home business.

The odd thing about these examples is that, quite often, it looks like there is no fear of being successful, just success (i.e. the dating man convinces himself that he has successfully weeded out yet another 'unsuitable')

Okay, let's get a few things straight! Fear of success...

is real!
is everywhere
is really FEAR OF CHANGE

(And that's why this fear is really the same as fear of failure - they're both fears of change. And that's also why this 22 Powerful Tools to Transform Your Fear Into Happiness, Peace and Inspiration ebook is a recommended read: it's about transforming your fear, whatever you fear!)

I didn't coin that piece of wisdom (alas) - I read it somewhere (and I'll remember where, soon), but it's true nevertheless.

"Fear of success is fear of change!"

(I told you I've been wanting to talk about this fear for ages. I just can't stop the words from coming out of the keyboard. ;-) )

So what's the answer?

Ah, I'm not here to give you answers (for you have all the answers you need, inside of you already). I'm here to highlight to you that you might, just might be another victim of this often paralysing fear.

And the solution to any problem comes from recognising that you have the problem in the first place.

So I'll leave you to find your own solutions, thank you very much - though you might like to read this page called overcoming fear! - and I will consider my own fears and how to stop them limiting my own potential.

:-)

Oh, you want something else? You want to hear what someone else thinks about this subject? You want to know how to recognise if you have this problem?

Okay, here's Jeanne(-ie)...

Fear Of Success - 8 Characteristics Of Fear Of Success

Fear of success - what Jeanne May says...

Some people have a real fear of becoming successful... yes, it is true! Some people actually fear success.

And for the person who is afraid of succeeding... the fear is real. Others around the person may not understand, they often think the person is being illogical and ridiculous... but the fear is very real and can be a major stumbling block for any real success in life.

How do you recognise a fear of success?:

When you feel that something is holding you back
Deep down you know you are getting in your own way
When you feel everything is out of control
When you easily find distractions to keep you from what you are meant to be doing
When you have trouble focusing your energy for very long
When you lose your motivation
When your confidence takes a knock

Any combination of the above can indicate a fear of success!

Why does it happen? What is fear of success about?

You find change frightening and prefer to keep the status quo... in other words, you prefer to keep things as they are. Change often involves new experiences which can be seen as scary... the fear of the unknown
A belief that once success has happened, the expectation will be it will happen again. This is particularly real for some students. I have known several students who are aware of their ability and have a belief that they can do well, but they also have a belief that if they do well this time it will be expected that they would do well every other time. To prevent that happening, they don't try very hard in the first place. This can happen in all areas of life and at all ages
Once success has been achieved, expectations are increased! People expect more from those who have been successful... and the successful person tends to expect a lot from him or herself and from others. Some people cannot handle pressure of expectations they put on themselves or the expectations of others
Attention success can bring may be overwhelming particularly if the person is a very private person and does not like being the centre of attention
Success is often associated with a lack of privacy in personal life e.g. TV celebrities, sport celebrities, Royalty... the lack of personal life privacy may be too higher price to pay for success
Success, particularly in business or work, often leads to major changes in schedules. Some people afraid of success fear their family life will be disrupted, fear they will need to work unreasonable hours, and fear their social life will come to a halt
Success may attract negative feelings such as envy, jealousy, anger, from others. Friends and family may suddenly treat the successful person differently, they may be envious of the benefits of success, and may ostracise the successful person. For many people, this would be extremely uncomfortable therefore needs to be avoided at all costs
Success may change your personality and confidence. Success brings about certain feelings of accomplishment and achievement. Successful people are typically more confident, more outgoing, and more in control of their life. Some people fear that they will change if they become successful

Fear of success is a real problem for some people... and it's a problem that can be dealt with.

Have you ever had a fear of success? I have several times throughout my life... and I know how it has impacted my achievements over the years.

Often a fear of success is accompanied by a lack of confidence. Developing and strengthening your personal confidence goes a long way in reducing and eliminating a fear of success.

When your confidence is strong, you trust in your own ability to deal with changes that success brings.

----------------------------------------------------
Jeanne May works with spiritually minded people providing them information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams... subscribe to Aspirations Plus and receive updates and a complimentary copy of "#1 Ingredient To Fast Track Your Success!" I invite you to discover more about the difference confidence makes in your life, and learn easy to use techniques to develop Unstoppable Confidence.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanne_May

Fear of success - what these recommended resources say...

Overcoming so-called success fear is probably one of the laws of success. What can you ever achieve if you don't truly believe, I guess! Anyway, the following resources explain more about fear of success - there's even a link to a 'hypnotic' solution:

How fear of success works from Suite101.com
More about self-sabotage (from SelfHelpCollective.com)
Using hypnosis to overcome success fear
Free ebook from FreeFromFear.com shows you how to transform your fear into happiness, peace and inspiration
Fear of Success books @ Amazon.com and Amazon UK

NOTE: Whist this page is part of a series of pages on success, it could also be part of a series of pages on fear, too. (Just saying! ;-) )

Return to Success from Fear Of Success or...
Return to Self Help Collective from Fear Of Success

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