Fear of success could be keeping you from achieving what you want. That sounds ridiculous, because we all want to succeed, right? Of course we do. Surprisingly though, many people subconsciously sabotage their own efforts while at the same time believing they are trying their dead-level best to accomplish their goal.

Obviously the first thing that comes to mind is, Why would I be afraid of success? Keep in mind that most people dont know that theyre afraid of succeeding, because its a subconscious thing. Its also an emotional thing, which makes it even harder to pin down, since we tend to go about our lives and our work in a rational, problem-solving manner. Deep down inside, there can by many reasons that get in the way of our reaching our goals.

For some people, the problems that would with the success of their venture could be emotionally overwhelming, because the reality of success is that its life-changing. Life-changes usually mean growth and growth almost always involves pain in one way or another. Some of the problems you might face include:

People now treat you differently than they did before. Old friends may think that somehow you now feel like youre better than they are. There could be absolutely no merit for their fears, but remember that this perception usually comes out of a sense of jealously, and not a sense of admiration for your efforts.

You find yourself unsure of how you are going to handle such a big lifestyle change. Youve heard the stories about the people who win the lottery, only to end up in bankruptcy a few years later. It doesnt seem possible, but many people just cant adjust to the self-discipline that is required from somebody who suddenly has limitless options. (Just because you CAN do anything you want now, doesnt mean you SHOULD).

Youve had a mental picture of yourself in a certain role for all of your life. Now you have to break out of that mold and be someone else that youve never been before. Dont underestimate how powerful that mold can be either. It could be that the life youve led up to this point was handed down to you for generations. Remember the movie October Sky? The movie was about a teenager in the 1950s who lived in a coal-mining town. His father worked for the mine, as just about everyones father did. It was simply expected that when you graduated from high school you would go to work in the mines, and the town had a way of putting social pressure on those who didnt fit that into that mold. This young man dreamed of building and flying rockets (remember this was the big thing right after Sputnik). To make a long story short, he faced many obstacles on his way to reaching his goal, even to the point of going to work in the mine himself and trying to squash his own dream. But in the end he persevered and eventually became one of the rocket scientists in the NASA space program. Its a good motivational flickyou should check it out.

Dont be afraid of your ambitions; be on the alert for any of the obstacles mentioned above. You need to prepare yourself ahead of time so that if you see yourself falling into any of those mental traps, you can overcome them and continue on your journey of success.

But thats a topic for another time

Till next timeSuccess to you!

-Ted