Fear of Success!

This week I want to share with you a truly thought provoking verse I came across whilst o delivering a Leadership training event and it has inspired me ever since.


“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Marianne Williamson
Used by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural speech

So what can we take from this?

One of the key challenges as human beings is we're not great at standing at the top of the tallest building and shouting about our achievements, what we do/have done and our future potential.
Most people think the biggest fear is the fear of failure…actually for many the fear of success is far greater. Whether they realise this at a conscious level is another thing!

I have feared success in the past and even now I still feel uncomfortable telling others about what I have achieved and what I am going to achieve for fear of what the person might think. There is an element of believing that I do not deserve all this success and that I won’t be able to handle it! These fears developed during my childhood when I was brought up to believe that sharing my successes with others was boasting about myself which was not a good thing and could result in things being taken away. The first step to overcoming this fear of success is to recognise that it exists within you. The next is to look at how this fear or belief is limiting you now.

So a couple of thought provoking questions:

 Are you playing small?
 Are you truly realising your REAL potential?
 If not what might you be doing to sabotage your own success?
 Are there actions that you’ve been putting off that that could positively accelerate your success?

Boldness has genius…go do it now! And remember the Universe will only give you what you can handle.

Here’s to a fun, fearless life!