Articles Archive
The
Fear Of Success
The
other night I was having a discussion with a friend when we
started talking about the fear of success. My friend said
that he understood the fear of failure but he just didn't
get what the fear of success was all about. However fearing
success makes a lot of sense to me.
There isn't a person on the planet that hasn't had the
experience of feeling that they have failed in some way,
even though it may just be how they perceived the situation
and not necessarily the truth at all. If something did not
go as we hoped and we have grown from the experience then
we still have something very valuable, just not what we
intended. And for some of us we go as far as perceiving
something as failed when we reach our goal if it didn't
follow exactly the plan we envisioned. At that point we may
blame ourselves or we may blame something or someone
outside of ourselves. The only fear of failure that
actually exists is the fear of feeling those negative
emotions, we know so well, that come up when something did
not go the way we wanted, especially if we tend to beat
ourselves up over things.
Now when I think of success I start looking into the future
and where I want to be. I start envisioning what it will
take to get there, and mostly I think about what it will
take to keep it up. I find those thoughts very
overwhelming. Can I keep it up? Do I have what it takes?
Can I handle the responsibility? Am I that person I think I
am? In that last question lies the answer to why people are
afraid of success.
Deep down in each individual there lies a knowing that we
have greatness within us. We have the power to create
whatever we dare dream about. Whether we are conscious of
it or not we feel this deep in our soul. This inherent
feeling of greatness inspires us to dream big and live
large. However our minds and our thoughts do not know this
at all. Instead our perceptions can be the messenger of
doubts. The most significant doubt inherent in the fear of
success is what if it doesn't work out? The worst fear that
accompanies the above doubt is that we will have proven
that we do not hold the greatness that we feel within. Am I
the person I think I am?
I cannot tell you if you are the person you think you are.
I can tell you that you have and are that greatness you
feel inside yourself. It takes courage to go after our
dreams, as well it takes perseverance, and the willingness
to regard any obstacles as building blocks in learning new
skills needed to achieve our dreams. We have to let go of
old fears and beliefs and see the value in the mistakes
that we make. Errors are a tool of growth; they are an
opportunity to learn what does not work so that we may gain
knowledge of what does work for us.
Whether you are a homemaker, a business owner, working or
retired you are a success because you are uniquely you. You
cannot be replaced. You are precious. What makes you a
success is not what you do or how much money you earn –
it’s what you choose to contribute to the world. You have
something to give that no one else on Earth does. When you
show someone else understanding and compassion you are
teaching others to be compassionate. When you lend an ear
to a hurting friend you are healing pain. When you teach a
child something new you are inspiring the future. When you
make a donation to a food bank you are helping life itself.
When you make someone laugh you are giving sheer joy. When
you recycle you are saving the world. All these actions are
acts of love. If all these contributions are not being a
success then what is? I bet you do more of these things per
day than you have ever given yourself credit for. You make
a difference.
The only thing that masks the greatness and the success
that we hold inside of ourselves are self-defeating
perceptions. And that doesn't actually take the greatness
away; it merely clouds our access to that feeling of
greatness. There is nothing on Earth that can take our
greatness away from us. It is who we are and who we are
meant to be.
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