Nobody starts a business expecting to fail. But as weird as this may sound; some people may unintentionally act in a way that sabotages their business success. Why? There could be many reasons, among them is the fear of success. Sounds like a paradox? Keep reading to learn more.

What is the fear of success?

Fear of success is the fear entrepreneurs may have when it becomes clear that they can achieve their dreams and become successful. This fear often manifests when entrepreneurs are well within their entrepreneurial journey and are starting to see positive results. The fear of failure on the other hand is a fear an entrepreneur may have right before they start a business. Both fears are two sides of a coin and also common to entrepreneurs and both can lead to inaction.

Inaction is failure to take the steps required to accomplish a specific goal. Aside from inaction, Entrepreneurs who experience fear of success may also act in a manner that sabotages their goal of succeeding. These self-sabotaging actions could become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. That is, when you are scared of success, you tend to make decisions that could prevent you from succeeding.

Why does it happen?

It’s understandable to fear failure. Maybe because you feel inadequate, are afraid to be embarrassed, or lose your money. But why be scared to succeed? What’s the underlying principle behind this? One explanation for this is that success comes with expectations and responsibilities. A lot of hard work and sacrifices goes into running a successful business.

Many people may like the money and fame of being a successful entrepreneur, but that’s just one side of it. The work can be overwhelming and not many people can handle it. We've seen the work ethics that founders like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are known for. Elon Musk said he worked for 120 hours a week after buying Twitter. In his own words

[I go to sleep, I wake up, I work, go to sleep, wake up, work—do that seven days a week,]

Musk’s work ethic is not advisable for anyone to emulate simply because it is outrageous and could cause severe health problems. However, it is common for entrepreneurs to put in more than the average working hours per week to ensure their business is successful, although this will directly affect other aspects of their lives,  especially their social lives and relationships. No wonder some people might develop a fear of success. ,

Another perspective that’s backed by science is that when faced with two choices, our brain has the tendency to go with the choice that takes the least effort to achieve. This is known as taking the “Path of Least Resistance”. According to the researchers; our brain tricks us into believing that the low-hanging fruit is the ripest. Why? Because it takes effort to get another fruit that’s higher up the tree.

Signs that you may have  fear of success

The fear of success manifests itself in many ways. It could come in the form of Laziness to do what needs to be done. Procrastinating core priorities and doing the things with little or no value like setting low-value goals. Some people may start feeling overwhelmed simply thinking about what comes after the success and become stuck in thinking instead of doing it. Holding on to past successes can also be due to the fear of success. You may also find yourself becoming too comfortable with your present situation and questioning the need to do more.

5 ways to overcome the fear of success

Have an accountability partner

It’s already established that fear can keep us from getting what we want. The fear of success is no different. If you find yourself having any of the signs mentioned above or you truly believe that for whatever reason, you may be afraid of your own success. Then one of the ways to deal with this fear is by having an accountability partner. This is someone you trust to hold you accountable to your goals and ensure you are working towards achieving them and not sabotaging them. An accountability partner can be a friend, a partner, a mentor, or a coach. Whatever works best for you is fine as long as they can keep you on the right trajectory.

Stick to your plan

If you want to succeed you need a plan or strategy. Otherwise, It would be difficult to achieve any reasonable level of success. So I’ll go ahead to assume you already have one. A plan is important because it will keep you in line and help you identify when something is off, like when you’re acting in a self-sabotaging manner. It is easy to tell when this happens because your actions and decisions will not produce the expected results. A plan You can easily retrace your steps to align with your plan. So even if you’re afraid to succeed, all you have to do is stick to your plan and you’re going to succeed regardless.

Review your goals to see if they meet the criteria for success

Another way to handle the fear of success is by reviewing your goals. The purpose of this is to make sure you have the right priorities/goals and that you haven’t veered off the track. Self-sabotaging decisions are one of the many signs of the fear of success, and one way you might be sabotaging your success is by paying more attention to less important things and less attention to the things that have more value. Reviewing your goals and priorities will help you avoid this. You can easily identify where your priorities are off and switch back to what’s more important to the success of your business. For this step to be successful, you need to know how to set goals. This will eliminate a situation where you might have set wrong or unrealistic goals.

Turn your attention from what comes after and enjoy the process

Analysis paralysis is when you are stuck thinking about or analyzing a situation such that you can’t come to a decision or even take action. With success, one of the most common thoughts entrepreneurs have is “What is next?” This is normal. What’s not normal is letting yourself get stuck in thinking or worrying about what will come next. If you do this, you become indecisive, give your attention to something that shouldn’t be a priority at the moment and you lose track of what really matters. All of these can sabotage your success. To avoid this, you must turn your attention back to the present. Focus on the process and as for what comes next, believe that you’ll cross that bridge when you get there. Overthinking will only wear you down.

Journal

Journaling is a helpful habit for many reasons. As entrepreneurs, journaling can help you monitor your thoughts she decisions. Have you been focused on the right thoughts or has the thought of the unknown clouded your mind? If you make a habit of journaling your thoughts, you can easily identify when there is a shift in your thinking and why this shift happened. Are your thoughts focused on your business goals or not? Do you see yourself overthinking or over-analyzing? Are you being indecisive or making decisions that contradict your business goals? Having a journal will help you answer these important questions.

Conclusion

Every entrepreneur wants to be successful, so the thought of being afraid of the very success you seek can be confusing. But the fear of success is as real as the fear of failure. The only difference between them is at what point an entrepreneur experiences these fears. While the fear of failure is often felt at the start of a business, the fear of success usually comes just before there’s a major breakthrough. With the ideas in this article, you should have no problem identifying and overcoming the fear of success should it ever happen to you.

You may also like to read; 7 Things To Do If You Want To Make Better Business Decisions