Ways to Overcome the Fear of Success
How to stop undermining your own efforts.
The fear of success refers to a fear of achieving success, often to the point where individuals may undermine their own efforts. While success is typically considered desirable, there may be circumstances where individuals need more time to adjust to being overly successful.
Characteristics of Success Fear
It can be challenging to identify the fear of success. A person may exhibit the following symptoms if they have this fear:
- Lack of objectives. People ensure they never make genuine progress toward achievement by having meager expectations.
- Letting go. People frequently sabotage their success by giving up just as it looks like they will succeed.
- Procrastination. People who put things off till the last minute need to perform their best or most thorough job, which can significantly harm their chances of success.
- Self-handicapping. People afraid of achievement may put barriers in their way that lower their chances of success. These actions range from insignificant self-destructive acts to more serious ones.
How to Recognize Fear of Success
If you suspect that you might be afraid of success, there are some things you can look for. These include:
- Being fearful of what will happen if you were in the spotlight.
- Worrying about leaving people behind if you move forward because of your success.
- Feeling anxious about acquiring new responsibilities as a result of your success.
- Being concerned that things will get more complicated than what you can handle.
- Fearing comments from naysayers or worrying about experiencing other social problems.
Many people may lack understanding of the actual causes of their self-destructive actions, even though they are sometimes aware of some of these concerns. In other situations, engaging with a therapist can be a helpful method to discover and understand some of the fear-based habits that are preventing you from succeeding.
Causes of the Fear of Success
— Imposter Syndrome
The dread of achievement can sometimes be exacerbated by imposter syndrome. Success-seeking individuals may worry that their accomplishments are unjustified or inferior to those of others in their industry. It’s common for people to fear that they won’t be able to live up to expectations or that others will see they aren’t up to the task.
— Fear of Backlash
Success can often bring people anxiety because they worry about the possible social or romantic fallout. This tendency is known as backlash avoidance.
For instance, women may shy away from self-promotion because it does not conform to established gender norms. According to research, women frequently connect achievement with more severe drawbacks.
— Misinterpreting Feelings Associated With Success
Physical indicators of both excitement and worry are frequently similar. As a result, it might be simple to mistake sensations of enthusiasm for fear or uneasiness. This may make some people clear of circumstances that make them feel this way.
— Negative Experiences
People who have previously had some unfavorable result after succeeding — such as being ridiculed for being a “show off” or going through adversity due to this success — might also be afraid of growing in the future.
— Poor Self-Efficacy
A person’s self-efficacy is defined as their confidence in and capacity to carry out their aims. It affects how you perceive yourself but also how you behave and what motivates you to pursue your objectives.
Additionally, self-efficacy might fluctuate between various fields. For instance, you could have a lot of confidence in one area, but you need more confidence in your abilities and potential in another.
Influence of Success Fear
- A worse quality of life. According to one study, this worry considerably lowers life satisfaction.
- A challenge in achieving goals. Research also revealed a link between difficulty starting and maintaining activities and a fear of success. People who dread success may find it difficult to begin since these initial stages are so challenging. Or they can discover that once they start a project, they lack the drive to finish it.
- Decreased sense of self. While success is typically linked to high self-esteem, this may not be true for people who dread success. This may be especially true for those suffering from impostor syndrome since they don’t credit their success to hard effort, ability, or expertise.
- Low anticipations. According to research, those who fear success tend to set modest academic and professional objectives about their aptitude.
Treatment for Fear of Success
- Psychoanalytic Therapy.
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
- Exposure Therapy.
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy.
How to Manage Your Fear of Success
Additionally, you can do things yourself to manage and overcome a fear of success. This entails thinking about the nature and origin of your anxiety and learning to recognize the actions that stem from it.
When you are more aware of these patterns, you may concentrate on overcoming these negative inclinations.
— Deal With Stress
Because stress can play a role in your fear, it is essential to look for ways to relax and manage your stress and anxiety. Try stress management techniques such as:
- Deep breathing.
- Exercise.
- Journaling.
- Meditation.
- Visualization.
- Progressive muscle relaxation.
— Determine Your Negative Beliefs
Finding strategies to change your view of success is a helpful coping mechanism. Focus on some of the unfavorable ideas you might have about achieving success.
Do you connect failure with unfavorable results? Are you concerned with what others may think? You may start working to replace these negative thinking patterns with more constructive ones as soon as you become more conscious of them.
— Practice Tolerating Discomfort
Enhancing your discomfort tolerance abilities is one approach to coping with the fear of accomplishment, which can result in avoidance behaviors. Work on progressively learning to sit with difficult or unpleasant emotions rather than avoiding them as they arise.
You could discover that your discomfort and fear get easier to handle over time. Additionally, you could find that the cause of your worry wasn’t as challenging or terrifying as you had anticipated.
Conclusion
Reaching your objectives can be challenging, and worrying about achievement can harm your self-worth and well-being. Thankfully, there are steps you may take to get over this anxiety. While developing your coping mechanisms might be helpful, if your fear is distressing you or is preventing you from carrying out daily activities, you may want to speak with a mental health expert.
