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Fear of Success

Rohini Mohan
Lot of people fail to achieve their dreams because they are too afraid to try. The fear of success has often robbed people of opportunities because of their own lack of self-esteem.
Fear of success is a form of mental conditioning, wherein the mind tends to be unprecedentedly drawn to failure or lack of ability. It is the fear that engulfs your thoughts and bombards you with self doubt about your own potential. The conflict arises when one part of you truly desires the success and realizes that it is within reach.
However, this feeling soon gets overpowered by the fear of losing out on a lot if you succeed. This conflict of emotions can be summed up as a basic and uncanny fear of change, where the person does not want to deal with the unforeseeable consequences of the future.

Signs of Fearing Success

People who suffer from this fear, usually lack self-esteem. They not only forsake new opportunities of success, they also make themselves incapable of further achievement and growth. It is a state of mind and the only thing that can alter its course is to restore one's faith in oneself.
Procrastination and hesitation in going ahead with a project or idea are signs of fearing to take chances and risks. Some people know they have the potential and are aware of their talents, but they still hesitate. Here are the reasons:
They feel burdened with the idea that they will be expected to succeed every single time. They are afraid of failing people's expectations and in order to avoid those consequences they avoid attempting to succeed.
They tend to believe that if they succeed they will loose out on the time spent with family and friends. They fear that a busy schedule will hamper their interpersonal relationships with loved ones. This may represent an inherent fear of loneliness, that people all across the world face in some form or the other.
Sometimes, people tend to assume that their progress would attract more enemies and ill-wishers who may want to harm them as well as their loved ones.

Overcoming Your Fears

One of the ways to get over this uncanny fear, is to self evaluate yourself. Make a conscious effort to ask yourself what is holding you back from achieving your dreams. The answers may also lie in past experiences which you need to address once again.
Realize that you have a purpose, a goal to achieve. Allow yourself the opportunity to express your talents lest you regret it later in life. It is far more painful if you do not try than trying and failing.
Holding optimistic faith is a start, after which you must make efforts to prepare yourself for tests, interviews, career steps, or life decisions that you have been evading for so long. Talk to your loved ones about your fears and ask them how they feel about it. Gaining their trust and support will make your journey towards progress, so much more enjoyable!
Secondly, you need to realize that change is a part of life and is inevitable. It is constantly happening, even within yourself. Accept these changes and embrace them. You will need to face your fears and learn to ignore irrational ideas, as and when they try to haunt you.
You will need to make conscious efforts to identify the fears that seem irrational to you. Discussing these fears with loved ones will make the task easier as they too will be able to gain a deeper understanding of your internal conflicts.
You may also try reading self-help books on becoming rich and successful to make the task simpler. If you find it difficult to speak to family and friends, you can always seek therapy, wherein all your conversations shall be confidential and guarded. Do not let your fear of success hold you back from realizing your true potential.