Fear of Success: How to Recognize and Overcome It
Have you ever found yourself holding back, just as things are about to go really well? Maybe you procrastinate on a big opportunity. Or question whether you deserve what's ahead. Even though you've worked hard for it.
This isn't just self-doubt. It's the fear of success.
For many, fear of success hides in plain sight. It shows up as hesitation, perfectionism, or second-guessing. All of which prevent you from reaching your goals.
This guide unpacks what the fear of success means, why it shows up for ambitious people, and how to overcome it for good.
What Is Fear of Success
Fear of success means unconsciously resisting what you say you want. It's actually not the fear of achieving; it's the fear of what will happen after you achieve.
Here are some examples:
“If I make more money, relationships will change.”
“If my business grows, I’ll lose freedom or burn out.”
“If I succeed, I may not be able to handle it.”
Fear of success is a nervous system issue. It’s not about lacking motivation.
Some signs that you might have a fear of success are:
> Procrastinating before a breakthrough.
> Minimizing achievements or avoiding compliments.
> Feeling guilty when things go well.
> Losing momentum after hitting goals.
> Searching for new problems instead of celebrating progress.
> Feeling unsafe being seen or celebrated.
Personally, I feel this most when things go well—making more money, signing new clients, traveling, or accomplishing something big. I worry that my family will resent my success. I think about people who can’t afford these experiences. I wonder if I deserve what I’ve done. This energy isn’t inspiring. It won’t help others believe in themselves.
For many new coaches, it’s hard to celebrate success. But celebrating trains your mind to accept growth. It trains your brain that it's safe to succeed. It keeps you moving towards your goals. Learning that it’s safe to celebrate is a hard but important part of the goal-setting process.
Fear of Success vs. Fear of Failure
So, let's talk about fear of failure versus fear of success.
Fear of failure sounds like, “What if I'm not good enough?” Fear of success sounds like, “What if I actually am good enough?”
Fear of failure keeps us from starting. Fear of success keeps us from expanding.
Fear of failure is rooted in shame. Fear of success is rooted in guilt.
Fear of failure is fear of rejection for failing. Fear of success is fear of rejection for shining.
With fear of success, you're often afraid of outgrowing old versions of yourself or outgrowing people who once kept you safe. Change can be hard and scary.
That's often why people don't sign up to work with us, to hire us as their coach, because they're afraid. They’re afraid of changing and afraid of what will happen when they start creating the life they want.
Root Causes of Fear of Success
So, where does fear of success come from?
This fear isn't about failing. It's about succeeding and going far in life. That can frighten your nervous system..
Marianne Williamson wrote:
"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, and 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 manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Here are some common root causes of fear of success:
1. Childhood conditioning around success, money, and visibility. What did your parents model and show you growing up?
2. Fear of judgment, jealousy, or abandonment.
3. Cultural or spiritual beliefs that humility means dimming your light. Some say it’s not spiritual to make a lot of money. That isn’t true.
4. Our nervous system sometimes isn’t calibrated for higher levels of joy, peace, or abundance. The thermostat is set. Like a thermostat on the wall: once the temperature is set, it can’t go higher. Our nervous system works the same way. It gets set at a certain level. Then it’s hard to make more money, feel good, or experience joy.
My mom grew up in poverty. There was heaviness and darkness. That set my thermostat. I couldn’t go above it. I found it hard to feel good in my body and life. One of my coaching friends asked me, “What’s the greatest amount of joy you’ve ever felt?”
5. Being addicted to struggle. In our bodies and nervous systems, success can feel unsafe. If things seem too good or too easy, we don’t know how to create that feeling. Dr. Joe Dispenza talks about how we can be addicted to struggle in his book “Becoming Supernatural.”
Every thought trains and wires our brains. Each creates emotions, i.e., chemical reactions. When we think about something stressful, our body releases chemicals of stress. Our bodies get used to operating that way. Switch to gratitude, joy, compassion, and the body resists. It’s unfamiliar. It wants to go back to anxiety or fear.
That’s where we have to think differently and rewire our brains with affirmations, plant medicine, breathwork, journaling, and meditation.
I worked on this for six months. It’s hard. I was addicted to struggle. It was hard to feel good in my body and life. To realize it’s okay to want success. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Shifting Your Relationship With Success
There are quick ways to shift your relationship with success:
Start with awareness and compassion.
You can’t heal what you can’t see. Notice the signs of fear of success. Instead of judging, get curious. Coaches are great at getting curious.
Become aware and curious when you:
• Procrastinate before breakthroughs.
• Minimize achievements.
• Deflect compliments.
• Feel guilty when things go well.
• Lose momentum after hitting goals.
• Find new problems instead of celebrating progress.
• Or feel unsafe being seen or celebrated.
That’s all you have to do.
Next, rewire your brain.
Reframe success as safety. Tell your body it’s safe to grow, shine, and be seen. Place your hand on your heart and repeat, “It’s safe for things to go well for me.”
It may sound silly, but do it. Reset your internal thermostat.
How does your not being successful help the world?
If I hadn’t climbed Kilimanjaro, done ayahuasca, gone to Tulum, and led my own retreat in St. Louis, would that have helped the world?
No. People are watching. They see me do these things and say, “If she can do it, then I can do it too.”
Use this mantra: “The more successful I am, the more others succeed, too.”
Women talk about famous coaches they’ve worked with. I want women to say that about me. That my programs changed their lives.
The more successful I am, the more others succeed, too.
Daily Practices for Overcoming Fear of Success
Some practices help regulate your energy:
• Breathwork
• Meditation
• Reiki
• EFT tapping
• Somatic coaching
In somatic training, notice how fear of success feels in your body. Move with that energy. This helps it dissipate.
And celebrate small wins.
Success is a frequency. The more you celebrate, the easier it becomes to welcome success in your life.
In the podcast episode below, I show you how to use breath, movement, and self-talk to reset your internal thermostat for success and safety.
Journal Prompts and Final Words
Here are two journal prompts to close out today (write down your answers and reflect):
1. What part of me still believes I’m safer when things are hard?
2. What would it look like to fully allow things to be easy and successful?
This will take time and work to recalibrate yourself; notice and pay attention when the signs appear.
Remember: You’re not the only one who feels this way. It’s common to fear what success might change in your life. This fear does not have to sabotage you from expanding to your next level as a professional coach. You get to decide how you redefine your relationship with success.
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Hey There! I’m Krista
A Retired Nurse Turned Professional Certified Life Coach, Spiritual Business Mentor, Hypnotherapist, World Traveler, Author & Mama to Lincoln.
I was born to be a coach and live a life beyond the white picket fence. I was never designed to struggle through a 9-5 job and sell my soul to the devil.
Now I work with heart-centered humans all over the world showing them how to become life coaches and start their own online businesses.
Hopefully one day I’ll get to work with you inside one of my coaching programs too. Because you deserve to have a life and career that brings you the ultimate freedom and flexibility so you can do the work you were born to do.
Xo,
Krista Kathleen, PCC