Ever Been Afraid? Of Success?

Part 1: The Quiet Fear No One Talks About

I’ll admit it — I’m not just afraid of failure. I’m also afraid of success.

Sounds ridiculous, right? We’re all supposed to want to succeed. We’re told to “dream big,” “reach for the stars” and “go for it!” from the moment we can tie our own shoes. So how on earth could the thing I’ve been chasing also be the thing I secretly fear?

Here’s the twist — fear of success is sneakier than fear of failure. It hides under noble-sounding excuses like:

• “I’m not ready yet”
• “I just need to tweak this one more thing”
• “It’s not the right time”

The truth is, fear of success can look a lot like perfectionism, procrastination, or self-doubt. It’s like a polite guest who never raises their voice but somehow rearranges your furniture when you’re not looking.

What Fear of Success Really Is

It’s not that we don’t want good things. It’s that our brain sometimes equates getting those good things with:

• More pressure
• More responsibility
• More visibility
• More opportunities to “mess it all up”

In other words, success can feel like the opening of a door… that leads into a bigger, scarier room where everyone in there can see you and judge you.

The “What If” Spiral

When I think about reaching a big milestone in my online business, my brain throws me a parade. And then immediately after that, serves me a list of “what ifs”:

• What if I can’t keep the sales up?
• What if people expect more from me than I can give them?
• What if they find out I’m not as good as they think I am?

It’s not just an online business thing either. This fear can sneak into any and all of your personal goals. Whether it’s getting fit, (don’t forget, 80% of 1st of year sign-ups are cancelled), starting a relationship, writing a book. Heck, anything that moves us out of our current comfort zone will start those “what if” thoughts.

Why It’s So Hard to Spot

Fear of failure gets the spotlight. We’ve all gone through it. We’ve also talked about it, written so many books about and built entire motivational seminar empires around it. But fear of success? That’s something that will lie in the shadow.

You might notice it if:

• You start strong on projects, then mysteriously “run out of time” to finish them.
• You hit 80% of a goal… and then somehow stop trying.
• You downplay your wins so nobody thinks you’ve “changed” in trying to better yourself.

It’s quiet. It’s polite. And it can keep you exactly where you are for years. Believe me. I’ve known fear of success for a while now.

Why I’m Sharing This

I’m writing this because fear of success is not something to be ashamed of. That being said, it is something worth looking straight in the eyes and saying “I won’t be afraid anymore“. I’ve had to do that myself. Especially since I’ve been working on growing my online business.

It’s easy to think, “Once I get over my fear of failure, I’ll be unstoppable.” But we all know that success has its own mental roadblocks, and until you recognize them, they’ll keep you playing small even when the path forward is wide open. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “I’ll start after I…” or “It’s not the right time…” or “I’m not ready yet…” — this might be the quiet fear you’ve been overlooking.

The good news? Once you see it, you can work with it. And that’s exactly what we’re going to get into.

Mini Takeaway for Part 1:
Success isn’t scary because it’s bad. It’s scary because it’s different and different feels risky. But the first step in beating fear of success is simply to notice it’s there.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In Part 2, we’ll dig into the self-sabotage patterns that keeps fear of success alive and how you can start breaking those patterns today.

Part 2: The Subtle Self-Sabotage Trap

Now that we’ve called out fear of success for what it is, let’s talk about its favorite trick: self-sabotage.

Contrary to what you may have been told or read, self-sabotage isn’t about being lazy or careless. It’s often about protection. Our brains try to shield us from discomfort by slowing us down or keeping us in familiar territory. Even if that familiar territory isn’t where we want to be on a long-term basis.

The Hidden Patterns

Fear of success often wears a disguise. Here are a few common costumes:

• The Perfectionist Mask
  You keep polishing, tweaking, and revising because you want to make it just right and it just needs one last “thing”. And that’s when you miss the opportunity completely.
• The “Busy” Badge
  You fill your days with tasks, but they’re all low-impact ones that don’t move you forward. You’re playing the “busy-fool” all day long and even though you’ve done a lot, nothing has brought you closer to your goal.
• The Last-Minute Dash
  You procrastinate until the pressure is unbearable, then rush to deliver something that’s “good enough” and secretly tell yourself it could’ve been better had you just had a little more time.
• The “Next Time” Comfort Blanket
  You convince yourself that next week, next month, or better yet, after one more course, you’ll finally be ready. It’s part of the “shinny syndrome” I’ve been caught up with in the past. You know the one; it’s the next course that will finally give me the financial rewards I’m looking for.

Why We Do This

Self-sabotage feels safe because it keeps us from the unknown. It keeps us in the zone we’re familiar with and in. It keeps our brain occupied in thinking that if I never finish my big project, I never have to face the reality of whether it’s actually good; or whether people would have bought it.

And let’s be honest, success can and does change things. Your routines. Your relationships. The way people see you. The way you see money. Even the way you see yourself. That change can feel exciting and terrifying at the same time.

My Personal Example

When I first started my online business, I would stall on sending out important emails because I thought, What if too many people respond and I can’t handle it? On the surface, it sounded like a “good problem” but deep down it was a fear of being in over my head. (Unjustifiably so, btw).

By delaying those emails, I was protecting myself from the possibility of feeling overwhelmed but also cutting off the possibility of growth and success.

Breaking the Pattern

The first step to breaking self-sabotage is awareness. Start paying attention to where you stall, delay, or “accidentally forget.”

Ask yourself:

• Am I really not ready, or am I avoiding discomfort?
• Am I protecting my time, or just protecting my comfort zone?

Once you notice the pattern, you can begin making tiny changes. Not giant leaps that scare your brain, but small, safe experiments that stretch your limits bit by bit.

Daily Decisions That Matter

Fear of success doesn’t show up in grand gestures. It shows up in the daily micro-choices:

• Do I publish the post or keep editing it?
• Do I send the proposal or wait for “better timing”?
• Do I say yes to the opportunity or let it pass quietly?

Over time, those small decisions either build your future… or build walls around it.

Mini Takeaway for Part 2:
Self-sabotage is just fear in a clever disguise. The way out is noticing it, then choosing small actions that keep you moving forward. Even when your comfort zone begs you to stop. In Part 3, I’ll show you how to flip fear into fuel so you can welcome success instead of dodging it.

Part 3 — Turning Fear into Fuel

Here’s the empowering part: fear of success isn’t a life sentence. In fact, once you know it’s there, you can change and take that fear of success to the next step: using it to your advantage.

Reframe the Story

Instead of thinking, “If I succeed, it will be overwhelming,” try:

• If I succeed, I’ll learn how to manage the new challenges.
• Success will give me more options, not fewer.
• I don’t have to have it all figured out before I start.
• I can find solutions to issues that will happen along the way.

When you reframe success as a learning experience instead of a final verdict, it becomes less intimidating. More importantly, it sure does take away a lot of stress!

Build Safety Nets

One of the biggest fears about success many people have is that success is not sustainable. It is. But, to make it easier, build systems that make it effortless to handle growth:

• Automate small tasks. I’m using a software that will automatically post my blogs, videos at a specific pre-determined time. That gives me back a lot of time.
• Batch your work. Creating several blog entries for different weeks, gives me the opportunity to continue writing when I’m on a roll.
• Schedule rest and downtime as non-negotiables. I also use a timer that gives me specific rest periods and I also “block save” periods of times during the day that I don’t respond to emails or telephone calls.

These “safety nets” remind your brain that you won’t be running at full speed 24/7, you’ll be pacing yourself. In my case, this is very helpful because the little hamster in my brain, really likes to turn that wheel sometimes!

Celebrate Small Wins

This is one thing that I’ve learnt to do and is so important. Instead of focusing only on the big goal, celebrate progress along the way. Every small win is proof you can handle more than you thought. This builds confidence slowly, which makes the “big leap” less scary when it comes.

Surround Yourself with Mentors

A mentor, to me, is someone who shows you what’s possible by living it. He or she will not only guide you by making sure you don’t make the same mistakes he or she did but will give it to you directly; without sugar-coating anything. Surrounding yourself with mentors or like-minded people will also remove any negativity that may lurk around you. You know, like that uncle who always tells you that nothing good will come out of the internet because he just knows it…

If your feed is full of burnout stories, you’ll subconsciously link success to exhaustion. If it’s full of grounded, happy, successful people, you’ll start linking success to stability and joy.

Action Over Analysis

Fear of success loves to keep itself in your head. The antidote is action, even messy action. I’ve been scared for too long about what people would think and finally decided to use Social Media and post videos. I was pleasantly surprised by the support and uplifting comments; many telling me how I had put into words what they were feeling and living.

Set a “decision deadline” for small tasks. If it’s something you’ve been overthinking, give yourself 24 hours to act on it and then just do it. It doesn’t have to be pretty; it just needs to get done.

Final Perspective Shift

Fear of success isn’t the enemy. It’s just a signal that you’re about to step into something new. That flutter in your stomach? That’s growth knocking at the door and believe me, once you’ve got those butterflies going in your stomach, you won’t want it stop and that fear will have to find a new home.

Remember, you don’t have to erase the fear; you just have to walk with it until it becomes excitement.

Mini Takeaway for Part 3:
Fear of success is just your brain’s way of asking, “Are we safe?” The answer is yes; because you’re building success in a way that works for you. If you’ve been playing small in your online business, career, or with your personal goals, start today with one tiny step forward. Success isn’t a sudden leap, it’s a series of small, courageous choices. Choices that can start right now.

If you’ve been holding back on your dreams because of quiet fears, know this: success doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It can be gradual. It can be sustainable. And it can absolutely be yours. The key is to stop waiting for the “perfect moment” and start taking small, intentional steps right now. Because fear will shrink the second you move toward what you want.

Like what you’re reading or have any questions? Don’t be shy, write it up in the comments section for me to reply and more importantly, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for continuous insights and tips.

Trust the journey – victories await along the way!