This article is an excerpt from a past monthly letter. If you enjoy this kind of grounding support, sign up to receive the monthly coaching package: it includes an article like this one, journaling prompts, creative practices, spiritual rituals and supportive tools to help you navigate your rebellious path as an artist or creative entrepreneur.

Failure is a fear that a lot of people deal with. By sticking to what they know and staying in their comfort zone, they avoid even trying something out because they’re so afraid that it might fail.

What if I disappoint people around me? What if I can’t make it happen? What if I’m just not good enough?

I believe we’ve all experienced this kind of crippling fear at one moment or another – it’s paralyzing, isn’t it? You end up never getting to do what you’d like to do, and you keep procrastinating on what you know would bring you closer to your dream life.

What, if in some weird way, your procrastination was also about the fear of succeeding? Is it possible that we sometimes self-sabotage because we’re terrified of achieving this great goal we have?

You don’t yet know that successful life you’re dreaming of and, just like you’re afraid of that unknown situation that comes with handling failure, it’s the same when it comes to handling success. You don’t know how to manage it yet. We all want to be “successful” – whatever that means for you - but we’re often subconsciously afraid of dealing with what comes with that “success”. The responsibilities, the money, the love, the fame…

What if we can’t handle it? What if we can’t control it? What if, deep down, you believe you’re not worth that success? What if I become another person?

So, as soon as you get close to that goal, you start procrastinating and doing the bare minimum, because it’s simply more comfortable to stay in a familiar situation.

If you think about it, success also requires a lot more effort than failure.

In some ways, it’s much more difficult to handle success than it is to handle failure. Success is much more complex than failure is. But the thing is, you’re not afraid of success, per say. You’re afraid of what comes with it and what you can’t control about it. Just like failure – you’re afraid of what comes with it, the change it will create, the new situation it will create. Because you don’t know how to manage it yet.

4 steps to overcome the fear of success

Recognize the underlying fear

The first thing I think you should do when you realize that you might be afraid of succeeding, is to recognize the underlying fear.

If you want to achieve your goals (and not be afraid of what comes with it), you need to distill down the origin of what scares you. Is it…

• Money

• Attention

• Judgment

• Anxiety

• Being too busy

What’s the fear behind all of this? If success makes you feel uncomfortable and scared, why? What kind of change do you think it might create, and how can it relate to an underlying fear you might have?

2. Stop your avoidance and self-sabotaging strategies

So what you want to do now is to try and observe your reactions when anxiety starts to manifest the closer you get to a goal:

Do you suddenly arrive late to work?

Do you start to hang out with the kind of people that tend to prevent you from moving forward?

Do you procrastinate on anything and everything?

Observe what you’re doing and start by stopping it as soon as you notice it.

3. Remember your past successes

However small it is, you’ve certainly achieved a certain level of success in your life. You might have graduated, earned a promotion at work, got married…

Reflect on this past success: you’ve been able to manage it.

Why would it be different this time?

It might have taken an adaptation phase, but you’ve still made it stick.

You have been successful before, and you were able to manage it. There’s no reason why it would be different this time around.

4. Face the fear

Now that you’re aware about the underlying fear, that you’re conscious about how you self-sabotage, and that you have a reference in your mind when it comes to handling success, it’s time to face the fear.

You know what you need to do to achieve that goal, so do it and trust yourself. You’ll manage what comes with success when you get there – now, just focus on doing what you need to do to get there.