6 Obvious Signs You Fear Success, And How To Overcome Them

It is common to be afraid of failure. When we try to avoid ridicule, embarrassment, or a bruise to the ego, we act in predictable and unhelpful ways. No one really wants to fail, but failure is inevitable when aiming high. Its lessons sustain growth, so learning to love it will serve any entrepreneur well.

Fear of success is a different beast, and you may not even realize you have it. The fear of success is the worry that once we achieve something, there may be suffering associated with it. When you sabotage your efforts for seemingly no reason, when you keep playing small no matter how much you dream big, and can’t seem to shake those old thought patterns, that fear could be holding you back.

Why is anyone afraid of success? What’s afraid of fame, fortune and fun on new levels? Your conscious mind may explain all the benefits, but your subconscious may be terrified that they will come to fruition.

Maybe you’re afraid you can’t handle it: the money, the attention, the influx of inquiries. Maybe you fear losing yourself to the ego, not enjoying the spotlight or the inevitable criticism, changing too much, or losing some friends. Are you afraid of having to work too hard, of finding out that you’re not as good as you hoped, or of having to deal with backlash?

Consciously or not, these fears affect your actions. Here are six obvious signs you’re afraid of success and how to overcome them.

You avoid hiring

Deep down, you know that with the right people in the right seats, you could eliminate all the bottlenecks in your business. You, as the owner, are probably the biggest bottleneck. Your tasks could be done by someone else, but you are avoiding hiring them. Find several reasons why someone else will not do a good job. You say you don’t want to manage people or have the burden of more suppliers. You test the waters but don’t fully commit to training people enough, or you find problems in service, then take back responsibility and declare that no one can do things as well as you.

This is a sign that is afraid of success. As long as you keep your tasks and do the busy work, you won’t be able to move to the next level. Your fear is putting a ceiling on yourself and making excuses why you can’t take a step. He wants you to stay in, stay focused, and persevere with the small roles so you can never get to the big ones. When the work week is over and you have nothing to show for it but the status quo, you’re inside your comfort zone and safe from the danger that success can bring.

There’s no denying that working more on the front line and less on detail will grow your business, so stop avoiding paper.

You don’t spend money

Spending money is a privilege you are not taking advantage of. Money can buy you time and performance. Money, spent the right way, can bring evidence and users and customers that stay forever. Money can generate awareness, clicks and website traffic. The money can free up time you could have spent fixing your own car or loading your own dishwasher. But your fear of success wants you to be slow, busy, inexperienced and invisible. This will make your business small.

When you fear success, you avoid spending money. You’ve developed a scarcity mindset and are aligning yourself with frugal values ​​that you now pride yourself on. You ignore the ways to access cash and think it is scarce. You adopt the persona of a scrooge, always trying to find discounts or save a few bucks here and there. You’re sweating the pennies without going after the pounds. Limited beliefs around money hold many entrepreneurs back.

Think of spending like making investments and change your thinking. Instead of waiting until you have the money to spend, invest to earn more. Think of spending cash as something you “get to” do, not “have to.” Act accordingly and you will reap what you sow.

You don’t explore new ideas

If you don’t explore new ideas, it may be a sign that you are afraid of success. Stuck in your ways, you prefer the known safe to the potentially prosperous unknown. You’re not convinced that what you’re doing right now will get you anywhere impressive, but you still carry on with the guise of focus and determination. Ignore new technologies and only adapt when necessary. Dismiss inventions as hype and shut them down completely.

Speculate to accumulate. Going rabbit hunting can bring improvement ideas and new pockets of customers. A concept from a book, a method from a YouTube video, an insight from an experienced friend, and your business could completely change its trajectory. But your fearful mind wants to close those entrances and return to what is familiar, because it knows that this way has no great and terrible success.

Rapid technological advancement means that exploring new ideas is not only essential to growth, but also to standing still. Even if you don’t want to progress, don’t let yourself go backwards.

Close suggestions

When people you trust want to give you suggestions, but you find yourself shutting them down, this could be a sign that you are afraid of success. Friends and networks have interesting ideas about where you can take your products or services, but you respond with reasons that probably won’t work. You won’t go there. You will not attend to their proposals. Are your fears of expansion masquerading as limiting beliefs?

And if you heed their advice? What if you made a few tweaks and the opportunities presented themselves? Then you should introduce yourself, figure things out and face new challenges. This is a daunting prospect for someone who secretly longs for normality and wants to live a quiet and comfortable life. Being open to suggestions means listening to people. No need to take action, but at least listen. When you start to see that exponential growth, you’ll have people to celebrate with.

Instead of shying away from suggestions, consider their impact. See what happens when you try a few things.

Don’t ask for help

You think you have all the answers you need to run your business well, so you stick with what you know. You don’t have a coach, you don’t take any guidance, you don’t seek advice from mentors. There are people around you, but you avoid asking them for help. Maybe they’re too busy, maybe they think you’re taking liberties, maybe they don’t want to talk about work. This is what you say to not get their opinion.

If there are people in your network who have had the success you think you want, but you’re not taking their advice, that’s a clear sign that you’re afraid of success. You could get the answers so easily, but something is holding you back. Maybe you ask for help, but you ask too late. Your plan has already failed, which may be what you really wanted. Procrastination (before asking for help) or self-handicapping (by not asking all together) are sure signs of sabotage.

Emulating tried and tested strategies might work great, but something is holding you back from moving forward. Find out what and find out why.

You avoid responsibility

You could put your name forward for new experiences, but you run away. You could take on more responsibility, but avoid the limelight. You could ask the question, ask for a chance to prove yourself, and put your art out there, but there’s something holding you back. You know you’re capable and you know your work makes a difference, but you’re afraid to show it. That would mean you have to change.

If your business really took off, if people were knocking on your door to work with you, you would have no excuse not to grow. But maybe you want the excuse. You’re content to get by, with the bare minimum. You’ve only had a few hours of work with the client and you’re convinced it’s a good thing. More responsibility comes with disadvantages and advantages, and you are inflating the problems. If people knew how good you are, you’d be a billionaire. So why not let them know?

Take on more than you think you can handle and discover just how much you could be capable of. Remember you can stop at any time.

There are six signs that you are afraid of success that you may not have noticed until now. Avoiding hiring, spending money, or taking on responsibilities keeps you within the realms of comfort. Not getting advice, asking for help, or exploring new ideas closes you off to outside input that can change your game. Recognize when the signs appear that you fear success so you can explore what’s behind it. What’s the worst that could happen, and wouldn’t the pros outweigh the cons?