Fear of success doesn’t sound like a “real thing” but it is and it can hold people back in a big way. Often, we don’t fear the success itself, but we fear the perceived consequences of that success. We fear what the achievement of that success will bring, and whether that is a conscious or unconscious fear it often leads to self-sabotage.

What Does the Fear of Success Look Like?

  • Not setting any goals – having low expectations of yourself
  • Quitting right before success happens – derailing their own success.
  • Placing obstacles in their own way – minor and major self-destructive behaviours
  • Perfectionism – trying to be perfect and not letting the work go and thus losing the opportunity or missing the deadline.
  • Procrastinating – waiting long enough for the opportunity to pass.

These fears are not easy to spot because they can come across as lack of motivation, laziness, and poor discipline. These fears keep us from living life to the fullest.

What Do We Fear Success Might Bring?

It’s not that you think you’re incapable of succeeding. It’s more about the fear of change that may come and whether you’re up for it.

  • Success might bring the spotlight and if you’re shy or introverted you may not want this.
  • Your achievement might alienate your family, friends, or your peers.
  • You might be fearful of what people might think and say.
  • You may be worried that you won’t be able to handle everything especially if your life becomes more complicated.
  • Worrying that you may achieve some success and then fail.
  • Worrying that success might change you, but not for the better.

Fear of success can be easily confused with fear of failure because either one can keep you from reaching your full potential. Fear of failure has to do with beating yourself up when you think you’ve failed. Fear of success is more about anticipating how other people will react to your successes.

What Causes This Fear of Success?

There are several causes and we a highlighting a few here.

  • Imposter Syndrome – some people believe their successes are a fluke, undeserved or that they are not as good as others in that field. They feel that the expectation to live up to their successes would be too great. Then other people will find that they are fake or not up to the challenge.
  • Fear of backlash – people fear that their relationships or family life will suffer, and researchers call this phenomenon backlash avoidance.
  • Negative experiences – some people have had negative experience in their past and could have been labelled a “show off.” They may have experienced some form of hardship because of their successes.
  • Shyness or Social Anxiety – these people do not want to be in the spotlight.
  • Poor self-efficacy – these are the beliefs, past experiences, observations we hold about our ability to complete a task or be successful.

The Impact of this Fear of Success

  • Our satisfaction of life is lower.
  • Because of the fear of success and achievement there is a correlation between initiating and maintaining the momentum of projects.
  • People set low goals, lower than what they are capable to achieving.
  • The Imposter Syndrome highlights the low self-esteem. People don’t attribute the achievements to their knowledge, skill, or hard work.

How do People Overcome a Fear of Success?

If you’ve identified your fear of success, you may need time and with trial and error, find the strategies that work for you.

  • Go back to your childhood and examine your past experiences with success
  • Look at the triggers and how it manifested.
  • Manage stress and anxiety around having success or what you think will happen when you have success.
  • Get professional help – work with a counsellor or a coach

The fear of success can be difficult to deal with but taking steps to challenge your negative beliefs, learn to tolerate uncertainty and distress and use relaxation and grounding exercises.

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