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Do you fear success? This might sound like a strange question, so allow me to elaborate.
Often we think we fear failure – but the truth is the opposite. You might fear success because success:
- Brings change. Change is always uncomfortable and we prefer to keep the status quo.
- Might give you more responsibility.
- Adds more pressure.
- Will change you for the better or worse.
This is summed up perfectly in this short video.
If you would like to reach higher, but you fear the consequences, these tips will help you to embrace success more readily.
1. Address Your Apprehensions
Examine different areas of your life like your job, your family life and your relationships.
- Are they in a healthy condition?
- Which areas do you succeed in more often?
- Which areas are you content with keeping as they are?
- Identify parts of your life that you want to change but fear doing so. Figure out why you may be holding yourself back.
It’s always some fear or another that is keeping you stuck, but try to be more specific.
You’ll probably notice that in some areas of your life you have no problems with and success comes easily.
Understanding where your fears stem from will help you to overcome them.
2. Understand Your Fears
You may be afraid to develop your skills set in any given area because you reason that people will depend on you more if you improve your skills.
If people depend on you more there’s a bigger chance that you won’t meet their expectations.
Your fear of letting others down holds you back. Now dissect that line of reasoning.
You’ll start to notice that your fears are unfounded, and that you base them on unreasonable expectations that you place on yourself.
3. Arm Yourself With Confidence
Fighting any battle requires a solid and realistic game plan.
Being well-prepared in any endeavour that you undertake builds confidence, which is a key element of embracing success.
- Know as much about the goal that you would like to reach as possible.
- Research it.
- Talk to others about it.
- Lear the skills required to reach that goal.
- Figure out how your life will change when you get to the finish line.
You’re much more likely to take the plunge if you have the support from people around you and an safety net in place.
Knowing that you will survive no matter what the outcome is will give you significant confidence and allow you to have the attitude of ‘whatever happens – happens’.
4. Reinforce A Positive Self Image
When you find yourself focusing on all the ways you can fail, force yourself to abandon these thoughts and replace those thoughts with positive memories and affirm with yourself what you’re good at.
Train yourself to trust your capabilities by remembering and being grateful for all the successes you have achieved up to this point in your life. Gratitude is the secret of success.
You have accomplished so much – and you can accomplish so much more.
Catch your thoughts trailing off into pits of fear and apprehension. Catch those thoughts before they become a habit and switch to positive thoughts instead.
5. Visualize Positive Outcomes
The easiest way to avoid situations that are not 100% full proof is to convince yourself that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Visualizing is almost as good as doing, studies suggest . So visualize. It’s easy to do.
- Convince yourself that everything that can succeed will succeed.
- Play the events out in your mind.
- See yourself applying your skills and using your know-how to hit your targets.
- Form a clear picture of the positive results that follow, and make success the default answer to the question “What will happen if I…?”
- And don’t just picture the success. Feel it. Feel the joy, pride, elation, relief and other positive emotions that arise when you reach your goals.
The best way to overcome fear is to face it head-on. Acknowledge your fear of success, analyse it and arm yourself with the right tools to get rid of it.
The fear of the unknown and fear of change are not uncommon, but don’t let them hold you back from achieving your full potential and from leading a fulfilling life, one in which you are not afraid to dream and to make your dreams come true.
