Is the Fear of Success real? Might you be experiencing this fear? Ask yourself, is there always something that gets in your way? Do you find it difficult to stay focused? Does your motivation wane easily? How confident are you that you can succeed?
If you are nodding assent to most of those questions, you may very well be experiencing the Fear of Success. This fear is the barrier to your prosperity. It is this fear you will need to confront in order to accomplish your goals.
There are several factors that give rise to the Fear of Success:
* Any alteration from our normal routine can be scary. Although there is a certain amount of excitement associated with new ventures, the unknown can produce a degree of panic. You may subconsciously be resisting the change and opting to settle for the familiar.
* You may be wondering if you can live up to the demands of success. There may be expectations from family and business partners that could produce undue stress. Success is hard enough to attain. Maintaining the prosperity may be a great deal harder. You may have to expend more time and energy. Staying balanced will be difficult.
* If you are a quiet person, you may not relish the attention your success may bring. People will seek you out for advice or set you up as a role model. You may feel pressured to keep up a certain image. There is the fear of losing touch with your inner self. You may resist the intrusion into your private life.
* You may hold to the belief that success is an end in itself and once you accomplish all that you set out to do you may not experience the jubilance expected. The dread is that you will inherit an existence of unhappiness and discontent.
* You may hold to the belief that you do not deserve to be financially successful. Perhaps you think it is selfish to achieve wealth. You may feel unworthy. Or you might even think it is sinful to desire monetary achievement.
Fear of Success can result in self-destructive behavior. You may find yourself sabotaging your efforts to achieve and sustain success. This might be manifest in work, in your relationships and even in your personal growth. A lack of effort towards your goals will be demonstrated. This behavior could result in chronic underachievement. Your motivation will wane, leaving you with little ambition to move forward.
When one has a Fear of Success decision-making becomes a task. You procrastinate and continually make excuses. This can cause feelings of shame and guilt. Instead of doing the things you need to do to move forward, you do the very things that will prevent your successes.
Your thinking is governed by chronic negativity, and a pessimistic attitude. You find it impossible to visualize yourself as successful and happy. You may be thriving on the sympathy of others and are fearful that if you achieved success you would lose that needed nurturance.
When it comes to your achievements, Fear of Success can be just as hindering as Fear of Failure, if not more so. You will need to identify the negative notions you have about yourself and replace them with positive, self-affirming beliefs. A seminar on self-esteem, or a self-help book dealing with replacing negative emotions can help.
Visit my personal-success web site mentioned below. Here you will find growth strategies that will aid you in all phases of development. There are also links to some other excellent motivational sites that give insight into overcoming illogical reasonings.
If you can honestly identity that you have a Fear of Success, then take the steps that can produce a more positive outlook. Your future can be bright. We all have choices to make. Life can be beneficial and beautiful. Make the choice to believe in yourself. Choose to be happy and successful. With a little effort you can do it. And yes, you do deserve it.
I started leading a new project this week. This one is different from projects I have lead in the past. I was nervous. I wanted to succeed but I did not know exactly what to expect. I could not anticipate how the project would turn out. Although I knew I had the skills to do the job, I questioned myself. As the clients entered the meeting room, my heart raced and my palms began to sweat. Mentally I made excuses as to why taking on this project was a bad idea. I planned how I would tell the clients why I was the wrong person to lead the project. I wanted to run away.
Then something in my consciousness clicked. I realized that I was afraid to fail. I was prepared to step out of leadership because of this fear. I was ready to quit before I started because I felt afraid. Quitting would have been the greatest failure of all.
I took a deep breath. I focused not on the fear but on the project at hand, deciding to give it my best effort. I told myself that if I did fail, it would not be because I had run away.
This experience reminded me of what it feels like to retreat in the face of failure. Client after client comes into my office wanting to make a change in life. One wants to start something new in his family, another wants to lead an innovative plan at work. They stop in fear of what might happen if their efforts fall short of their expectations. They step to the edges of their comfort zones, look out, and then hesitate when they see beyond that edge to the possibility of not succeeding.
We all do it. We tell ourselves we want something, but when it comes to taking action to achieve the goal, we stop. We are afraid of what failure might mean to our images, our security, and our livelihoods. As leaders, we tell ourselves that we have to look good, be strong, stay smart, and seem competent to the people we lead. We tell ourselves that failure will undermine our ability to lead.
In reality, failure is our greatest opportunity for growth and learning. We rarely step back and reflect on our successes the way we evaluate our failures. When we fail at something, we lick our wounds and we take time to think about the valuable lessons this disappointment can teach us. Like a child learning to ride a bike, we are one rotation of the pedals closer to riding on our own after each fall. Out of failure, we learn to do things differently, better, more successfully the next time we try.
Whether raising a family, leading a team or running an organization, we deprive the people we lead of their chance to grow when we protect them from failure. The parent eventually has to let go of the bicycle seat and let the child fall so he can learn to ride. It is our responsibility as leaders to set boundaries, to provide guidelines, and to do what we can to support people's growth and success. Sometimes this means letting people fail in order to help them to grow.
What do you avoid doing because you are afraid you might fail? What is the risk associated with failing? What is the risk associated with continuing to avoid it? In what ways are you protecting someone else from failing? What does your protection cost that person?
I am interested in your thoughts and comments about this article. Is it helpful? Why? Why not?
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Doran Roggio has sinced written about articles on various topics from The Internet, Eating Out and Web Development. Doran believes in the power of thought, natural healing, and the pursuit of happiness. Doran's provides resources for success in business and in your personal life.. Doran Roggio's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Bill Pullen has sinced written about articles on various topics from Leadership. Bill Pullen is President of Pullen & Associates, a Washington, DC based consulting firm providing coaching and consulting services to individuals making change as well as corporations, the federal government and private organizations. His work focuses on. Bill Pullen's top article generates over 18100 views. to your Favourites.