Fear of success: everyone has it and prevents you from achieving success in relationships and at work

In psychology, there is a term “fear of success". You can find it in everyone. It is quite difficult to recognize it: it makes itself felt in different ways, but the result is always the same – success becomes unattainable.

Why are people afraid of what they want so much? Fear of success is a rather unusual combination of the desire to succeed and the fear of failure. In psychology, this is the most mysterious and hardly recognizable fear. The fact is that victory has a downside, which frightens and repels. Combined with ambition, enthusiasm and the desire to change your life, this dark side becomes a fly in the ointment and poisons success so much that people instinctively try to get rid of this feeling.

The fear of becoming successful borders on the concept of “imposter syndrome”. This syndrome is described as a feeling of inferiority in achieving the desired. A person suffering from this disease is convinced that his success is a fiction, a will of chance, a gift of fate, but by no means the result of his efforts and abilities. And psychologists still cannot determine which of the two evils is worse.

How does a person with fear of success or impostor syndrome behave?

When communicating, such a person jumps from topic to topic, often repeats himself, talks about his problems. He lives by the principle: "If tomorrow I get everything I dreamed about, then the day after tomorrow I will lose everything." Even in everyday life – in the family, in relationships, at work – a person with a pronounced fear of success does not finish things. He has a rather narrow model of the world, he sets himself limits.

The recent discovery of scientists gives rise to new questions. According to researchers, everyone has a fear of success, it's just that for some it is not so pronounced, and someone can resist it.

How the fear of success interferes with life and how to recognize it

1 Fear of the unknown. Comfort zone – everyone puts something of their own into this concept. And everyone is afraid to leave it, because a collision with something unknown causes psychological discomfort. Doubts and hesitations appear: you will have to learn new things, take on more responsibility, make serious decisions, go towards the goal, work hard.

2 Fear of responsibility. Psychological research shows that the reason for the fear of success is the fear of being responsible for your decisions. The higher the status, the greater the responsibility, which obliges to make exceptionally correct decisions.

3 Fear of being alone. Psychologists say that if a person is afraid of loneliness, then he is automatically afraid of success. It is impossible to become successful if you do not devote time to self-development, training your talents. And they usually hone their skills in solitude.

4 Fear of criticism. People tend to judge those who go forward. Therefore, if a person is on the front line, he will be criticized. And the fear of public censure is the most striking stop factor that makes you back away.

5 Fear of inconsistency. Each person is afraid that he will no longer correspond to the current situation, will not live up to expectations.

6 Fear of workaholism. Success is determined by the effort put in. Successful people work very hard and, trying on such a lifestyle for themselves, a person fears that they can forget about a calm and harmonious life. Friends, hobbies, hobbies, fun – all this will be left behind.

7 Fear of irreversibility. Many people are afraid that, having achieved success, they will change beyond recognition, become a different person. For the subconscious, such a change is almost tantamount to death. Some are so afraid of it that they sabotage success.

The fear of success is in all of us. And we can either fight it and go to our goals, or stagnate in one place. A mistake is not the end of life, but the normal course of things. It is mistakes that allow us to open new horizons, gain experience, choose the right path, take steps forward, fight stereotypes. Acknowledge this fear and it will subside.