Overcoming the Fear of Success (Part 2)

Isaiah 41:13 says: "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee."

Our quote for today is from Michael Jordan. He said: "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Today, in the Get Things Done podcast we are continuing with part 2 of our series titled, “Overcoming the Fear of Success”.

Any time you put your problem into the Fear of Success pigeonhole, it's time to sit down and have a long heart-to-heart chat with yourself -- or with your therapist. You're being torn by conflicting pressures. You are unsure of your goals, since the things you've been telling yourself you want aren't what you really want, in view of the price involved. To use a term that's in vogue among psychologists these days, you're not being "authentic" in your dealings with yourself. And procrastination is never the answer -- it only makes matters worse.

There are two sides to every coin. No matter how desirable a goal may be, there are some negative consequences of having reached it. Fame means lack of privacy; wealth draws envy; growth fosters higher expectations; a promotion entails more responsibilities; a spectacular achievement raises the question of what you will do for an encore.

We are constantly weighing the pros and cons of possible courses of action, deciding in one instance that the advantages offset the disadvantages, in another that the price is too high. But with procrastination that process is circumvented. Instead of objectively considering the price of achieving a goal and then making a decision, the procrastinator decides by default against resolving the matter either way. The will to fail blocks objective consideration.