Shedding Light on the Fear of Success

Understanding the fear of success

The fear of success, also referred to as success phobia, success anxiety, and achievemephobia, is having a constant fear of succeeding.

Seems straightforward enough, right? Not exactly.

It’s not just the fear of success in itself but what that success can lead to, including the changes or lack thereof that stem from it.

Having this type of fear can keep you in a cycle of falling short of achieving your goals which is why it is linked to being unsatisfied with life. That is why facing this fear is necessary because it can lead to a better sense of satisfaction.

There are a few things that are essential to overcome the fear of success: identifying this fear, understanding what causes it, recognizing how it can impact your life, and implementing ways to manage and defeat this fear.

Some traits associated with the fear of success

People often associate procrastination and quitting with laziness, being unmotivated, or not having enough discipline to keep going. However, this isn’t always the case; they, along with other traits, can have underlying reasons. These are a few traits of the fear of success:

• Perfectionism
• Procrastination
• Quitting near achievement of a goal
• Setting low goals in comparison to one’s ability
• Self-sabotage/ Self-destructive behavior

Possible causes for it

There are numerous causes for having a fear of success. Some of these include:

• Being overwhelmed with new duties due to people expecting more from you.
• Worrying that success will become a competition.
• Being afraid of how other people may treat or feel about you, like being envied, resented, or even rejected.
• Wondering about the cost of being successful and what sacrifices need to be made to reach your goals.
• Having the feeling that nothing or everything will change after achieving your goals.
• Imposter syndrome. Feeling like you are not good enough or are undeserving of success.

How it can impact someone’s life

This type of fear may seem harmless to some. Nevertheless, its impact can be devastating, from never going after anything in life to causing self-destructive behavior to assure not reaching their goals.

• Difficulty pursuing goals (initiating, maintaining, and finishing projects)
• Less satisfied with life
• Lower self-esteem

Ways to manage or overcome this fear

There are multiple ways to start tackling the fear of success. A good place to start is by making some changes to your lifestyle. These are a few things that can be done by yourself or in a group.

Things you can do for yourself:

• Practice replacing negative emotions with positive ones
• Reduce stress (Exercise, reading, using breathing techniques, etc.)
• Think about the core fear and figure out why it scares you
• Join a support group (Talking with people with similar issues can be helpful)

Some stages of this fear can be more complex and warrant getting the help of a therapist. These are some treatments and therapies that can be beneficial in defeating this fear.

Therapies & Treatments:

• Acupuncture (inserting needles into points of the body to restore balance)

• Talk Therapies

- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

- Psychodynamic Therapy

- Psychoanalytic Therapy

• Massage Therapy

- Acupressure (similar to acupuncture but without the use of needles)

The suggestions above are not a complete list of therapies. Reaching out to a professional therapist for more information is best.

Final Note

The fear of success is a legitimate fear that, if left untreated, can negatively impact your life and well-being.

If this fear interferes with your day-to-day life or causes distress, it is important to consider getting professional help. It may be able to help you overcome this fear and put you on the road to achieving the success you want.

*Special thanks to Imani Lin for all of her suggestions and feedback that helped pull this together.

Originally published on medium.com