Some people fear failure, and others fear success. That might seem nuts to fear success, but success brings responsibility, and some people are afraid of that too. If you really want to be more successful it’s time to work through your fear.
II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The Apostle Paul lets Timothy know that his “spirit of fear” was not given to him by God. That means that Timothy or somebody else had to give it to him and Timothy received it. Working through fear begins with eliminating self-sabotage.
Signs of Fear of Success
If you fear success, there is a chance that you actively avoid it too. You don’t make goals, remember deadlines, aren’t self-motivated, or often second-guess yourself. Making decisions is difficult, in some cases seemingly impossible, for someone who is acting in fear.
In fact, fear of success is so intense in some people that it seems disaster strikes them anytime they’re getting ready to taste success. They get sick, engage in destructive behaviors, and actively sabotage themselves. Some people spend too much time on the stool of do nothing and indecision. These same people are so proficient at practicing self-sabotage they don’t realize it.
To deal with fear, you can work through it by doing the following:
Confront Limiting Beliefs – This could be about all sorts of things from yourself to what you think about society. You must remember that your life is just one of billions, and even though your feelings and experiences are valid, they’re not always a real representation of reality.
Surround Yourself with Supportive People – The more people you have around you that are positive and supportive, the better. People who want the best for you will not encourage you to stay stagnant in life. They’ll want to hold you up and help push you toward success with joy.
Keep a Journal – A gratitude journal is helpful, but so is a journal in which you write down all your negative self-talk. After you let it all out, go back and correct what you wrote as if your child wrote it. In so doing, you turn it into positive self-talk.
Revel in Past and Current Successes – The one way to get over the fear of success is to experience more success. When you do something difficult for you to do, and you feel good about it, let yourself enjoy it. It’s fun to be successful, and you should be proud of everything you overcome to achieve it.
Ask Yourself: What’s the Worst That Can Happen? – For any given situation, when you are unsure of what to do, and you can feel the fear rising up and preventing you from making a good choice, ask yourself, What’s the worst thing can happen? Be honest with yourself when you answer. Unless you’re jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, or something similar, you’ll be fine.
Accept Discomfort – The idea that you can be successful in life without any discomfort at all is flat out wrong. The truth is when you feel uncomfortable is the sane time you are most likely to learn something amazing or accomplish something remarkable.
The more success you experience, the less fear you’re going to have. Don’t be afraid to fail. Challenge yourself. Learn as much as you can. In doing so you can overcome anything, especially the fear that’s holding you back.
dhf
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