Strategies to Deal with the Fear of Success
Posted on November 21, 2012 by Tom Evans
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Marianne Williamson
This fear is the one that can be the most debilitating. It’s not only one that afflicts authors during the writing process but is also affects us once our book is published.
In this instance, you could call it “Author’s Block” In essence, it’s a fear of promoting yourself and your work in case you jump out of obscurity into the spotlight.
This is a fear that I have experienced first hand. One of the reasons I discovered about why it affected me so much was that when I was the most financially successful in my life with two businesses, this was when I was also the most stressed. As a result, I directly equated success with stress and used my very creative mind to avoid success at all costs.
The signs that this is happening in your life are:
- You jump on to the next project without really finishing off the one you have just finished
- You work on behalf of other people before you get on with your own stuff
- You become a ‘busy fool’
And I am proud to say I have all these T-shirts.
Strategies for Getting over the Fear of Success
- Don’t compare your success with the perceived success of others. Redefine what success means to you – it doesn’t have to be about the financials
- Get in the habit of celebrating all milestones, no matter how small, and in what ever manner you feel, e.g. every review I get for my books, I proudly share on Twitter and Facebook
- Think of being successful without fear or stress as being a massive success in its own right
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A very important subject, Tom – and that bit about redefining success is so important.
I wrote a ramble on the subject at the start of 2011 if it’s of any relevance/interest
http://eightcuts.com/2011/01/03/dealing-with-your-moment-in-the-sun-the-writer-and-self-belief/
Thank you Dan and your story is one I come across a lot in the clearing work I find myself doing these days. When our work tests us an stretches us though, the journey seems so worthwhile PLUS we often pick up experiences we can write about. It’s sometimes like we become entwined with the book and the book with us.
Great blog by the way !!
Happy Scribing !!