Personal Development: Do You Fear Success?

Many are the folks who get nowhere because of their Fear of Failure. There's another block that prevents people from taking their lives anywhere. It's even worse than the fear of failure. The Fear of Failure stops many people. They won't make decisions nor act to avoid rejection or failures. But still, this one is easy to identify. There are ways to help them overcome it and then reprogram themselves to succeed.

The Fear of Success is worse than the Fear of Failure; it’s way more elusive than is the Fear of Failure. One reason it happens is that you fear that success now will set you up to fail later. It makes you hold yourself back. It's also harder to overcome than the fear of failure. 

Do you have this tendency yourself? These are some signs of it: 

 • Studying or trying to use personal development tools. Still, your life doesn't improve. It even gets worse in some cases.

 • You settle for less than you should. Sometimes, you even give up.

 • You begin projects with enthusiasm, but soon you stop your efforts short of completion.

 • You expect failure even if the situation appears good. Can you identify your own patterns in any of the above?

 Check the characteristics below:

 • Procrastination - you put off what you need to be doing. Or else you don't do what you know will get you closer to achieving your goal. Everyone suffers from this block from time to time. Some people suffer from it more than others. It's a success killer. How can you expect to reach your destination if you do not take steps towards it?

 To overcome that, do little things each day that will bring you closer to your goal in smaller steps. You need a personal development plan. It's an essential weapon against procrastination. So take any action! Refine your steps as you go along, but don't stay inactive. Taking action is key.

 • You can't see the forest for the trees. This sign is the opposite of procrastination but it does as much damage. The saying is well known. Have you ever thought about it?

 Don't get caught up believing that your plan is more important than the goal. For many years I got caught in this trap. I started to act as if my plan was more important than my result.

 I missed opportunities to change my route. I didn't reach my goal quick enough. Learn from me: dump your ego and remain flexible. That worked.

 • You think that it's too soon to start. Have you ever waited too long to start something? Again, ACTION is the key to success. Take little steps forward. This is better than doing nothing. It's also better than waiting to see if your foot landed right. Even if you drift away, you gain knowledge about what doesn't help.

 That method worked for Thomas Edison when he was inventing his famous light bulb. He learned 1,000 ways that didn't work -until he succeeded.

 • Let's say that you're a perfectionist. This is like the point above. You never advance. No matter how good a job is, you can always improve it. 

Many great musicians tell how they hate listening to their own songs. That's because they find things to improve. Yet, we still enjoy them.

 I think a classic example of this is "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Paul Simon. It's beautiful in a haunting way. Still, Paul Simon finds it inadequate.

 • You see only problems - how do you flip your focus? Do you see only all the problems? If this is how you see things, then it is pointless trying to change overnight! But it's not a lost cause because you can still use this mindset to your advantage. The secret is to be more practical.

 "How can you use seeing only problems to my advantage?" you ask. 

Check out these tips for using your problems to better advantage: 

1. Look at the problems as indicators, and plan ways to work them. Every time you solve one, celebrate. Use them as a guide for measuring successes.

2. If you see more problems, think of how you dealt with the ones before.

3. Look at how far you have come. If you see a new problem, ask yourself, "How can I beat this?" Also, "How can I fix this situation faster? 

4. The quality of your questions is as important as the ones I outlined in a piece I wrote.

5. Use your problems as road signs. Is there a problem now? If yes, solve it.

6. Is it a future problem? If yes, plan for it then; prepare. That way, you won't get trapped in it if it pops up later on.

 As you can probably tell by now  .  .  .  , 

the characteristics of the “Fear of Success” are someone similar to those of the “Fear of Failure.” Whereas the Fear of Failure deals more with the present, the “Fear of Success” is a fear of the future.

 More specifically, it connects current successes with potential future failures that lie ahead because you succeed now. It doesn’t have to be that way.

They don’t have to set you up for future failures, not at all. The set of tips outlined right above is there for coping precisely with future problems that could be tied to current successes.

 So then, instead of masochistically depriving yourself of successes that you can and should richly enjoy and savor, enjoy your quest for personal development success.

 Follow the tips and you will succeed. Your fear of success will disappear as you advance, as you become a more developed person.