It’s Your Fear of Success, Not Your Fear of Failure

I think I am scared of success. I have no problem working hard, day in and day out. For years. But when it’s time to collect the sweet rewards of my labor or it’s time to finally get what I wanted - I delay it or put roadblocks in the way that allows me to stall.

Right when I am about to sigh in relief, I suddenly have a million other tasks & decisions to make - completely unrelated to my goals. Again and again.

I didn’t have the language to understand this until I read Cheri Huber’s book How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

Through discussing how we cling to our beliefs, Cheri encourages the rethinking of our internal programming that we all have. For example, having a lot of money doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily greedy:

I cannot look with fresh eyes at my relationship with money as long as I am busy either defending myself against, or identifying myself with, a label of “greedy.”

Aha. There it is, the realization that I am stuck because I am stalling. The conditioned brain wants to continue the same patterns as before rather than challenge them and facilitate change.

We attach meanings to things that limit us especially when we refuse (though subconsciously) to challenge those belief systems.

As humans, we hate change. We do everything in our power to stay where there is comfort. Familiarity.

Once this clicked for me, I stopped thinking about the symptoms of being stuck. I am now (though slowly) spending my time recognizing my own patterns, the underlining truth, & conditioning that I can overcome.

Thanks for reading, for more join my free Unlearning Newsletter:)