5 Steps to Overcome the Fear of Success

Do you fear success? 

Most people may not think they fear success, but most of them would be wrong. Our lives rarely change when we are comfortable with our situation. We might not love it, but it’s comfortable for us. We know what to expect. We might even be unhappy with our situation, but we know we can deal with it.

At the end of the day, most people don’t like change. We also don’t like the thought of failing or of standing out too much.

Here are some signs that you fear success:

●    You consistently make plans but fail to follow through with them. Whether it’s to start a new business, read another book each month, or hit the gym four days a week, you just can’t seem to make it happen.

●    You leave projects unfinished. This may include projects at work and in your personal life.

●    You’re all talk, and you rarely take any real action toward your goals.

●    You struggle to make even simple decisions.

●    Your life doesn’t change for the better.

●    You often self-sabotage, especially when you’re nearing success.

The above list may describe most of the people you know. But does it accurately describe you?

If it does describe you, I have five strategies you can being to defeat your fear of success and start to make real changes in your life.

1.   Visualize yourself being incredibly successful

Imagine yourself being more successful than you want to be. For example, if one of your goals is to make $100,000 per year, imagine making $1 million or more. If you want to lose 20 pounds, imagine getting lean enough that you can see your six-pack abs. Do this visualization each night and morning in bed. 

Make the visualization as vivid as possible. Include all of your senses and when it begins to feel uncomfortable, stick with it, and just relax through it.

Over time, it will feel more natural and achieving your goals will be much easier.

2.    Practice standing out

Many of us have a fear of success because we don’t want to stand out in any way. Somewhere along our life, we decided or learned that it’s usually better to keep our head down than to be noticed at all.

There are several ways you can practice standing out in your everyday life. You can dress a little differently than you normally do or you can change your hairstyle in a drastic or outgoing way. Or you could wear your fanciest clothes to the grocery store.

Find something to do in public that you’re either really good or terrible at, like singing or acting.

Whatever you choose, try it a few times a month, so that you can break out of your rut and find that standing out is not a bad thing.

3.    Reframe your failures

Fear of success can also be a fear of failure. Keep in mind that failure isn’t permanent, is just not the result you were looking for this time. It says nothing about you or your character. It merely means that you need more time, more practice, or a better approach next time. When you can view failure in this way, you’ll see there’s nothing actually to fear.

4.    Focus on actions over thoughts

We can’t genuinely fear success if we don’t think about it. If you need to send 100 sales emails to find clients for your business, just sit down and get busy doing it. The longer you sit and think about it, the harder it becomes. Just decide and take quick action. Don’t even give yourself a chance to worry about the result.

5.    Have a vision for the future

Enough motivation can overcome your fear. Create an image of a future in your mind that is worth overcoming any obstacle you could face. Fear won’t matter if you have a very compelling future in your mind.

Do you fear success? 

It seems counterintuitive or even weird to fear success, but it’s actually a common obstacle to making real progress in life. Success can bring attention, the unknown, and the possibility of failing.

Create your vision for the future, one that will pull you through any fears you might have. Learn to deal with a little discomfort and attention. And remember, you only have one life to live. Don’t let fear limit your life.