Are you afraid of success ?

 I was having a coaching call with a client recently

She is a senior leader within the tech industry and was being lined up for a promotion to a global role
“I am very excited” she said “It is like a dream come true!”
And then she paused....
“But I am scared” she said hesitantly “It is a huge responsibility. It is a big role”
She continued, “What happens if I do not succeed?”
The incumbent leader, whose position she was taking, had done an excellent job
And now, she was afraid whether she will be able to fill in those shoes or not
She was scared to step into her new power

“If I am not able to do justice to this new role, it will impact my credibility, my reputation and all the hard work I have put in over past so many years” she said
You see….
When we see successful leaders, we only see the success, the aura, the fame
But the truth is..
Success can sometimes be intimidating
Success can create all forms of fear and doubts
..Fear of failure
..Fear of what is on the other side, if you become successful
..Fear of not meeting the expectations of people around you
It can sometimes cause you to question your own self worth “Do I even deserve this?”
Success creates so many new challenges for you
And the more successful you are as a leader, the bigger challenges lie ahead of you
We are always talking about fear of failure
But we NEVER talk about fear of success
And these fears, these self-doubts can stop you from showing up powerfully as a leader
They can stop you from taking bold action and playing full out

Look....

Fear of success can be a good sign - it means that you are thinking BIG

But allowing that fear to move you into a state of inaction and indecisiveness is not healthy

And just a word of caution....

Fear of success and fear of failure can seem to similar in nature

But they are NOT

Both come from different places




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