Fear of success and responsibility: what may be behind it

Why success can also be frightening, how you notice it, and how coaching helps you grow into a bigger role.

A new role, more responsibility, a visible success: what you want also scares you. Sometimes you hold yourself back just before you get there.

How it can show up

Just before a promotion or exam you get careless or fall ill.
You turn down opportunities and find reasons afterwards.
You make your successes sound smaller than they are.
The thought of more responsibility brings pressure rather than joy.

Questions for you

There are no right answers. Take the question that stays with you.

What would change in your life if you reached your goal, and which part of that worries you?
Whose expectations do you feel when you think about success?
What would you have to give up if it worked out?
What would responsibility look like that you would be glad to carry?

Where coaching can help

Coaching helps you work out what exactly worries you about success, such as expectations, visibility or the fear of letting others down, and how you can grow into a bigger role.

When other help fits better

If strong guilt or old, painful experiences lie behind holding yourself back, working with a psychotherapist may be the better fit.

If it is too much right now

Coaching is not psychotherapy and not a crisis service. If you are in danger or thinking about harming yourself, contact the emergency services where you are right away, or a crisis service near you.

Want to talk it through?

In a free 20-minute intro call we look at whether coaching is the right way to work on this for you. If it is not, I will tell you so.

Book an intro call