Fear of Success

My lovely wife has a way of seeing things in me before I do and not long ago she mentioned how I sometimes reach a certain point in a project, then just quit, move on to something else and don't follow up on my previous project.

I brought up this condition to my mastermind group a short time later and a number of the men mentioned they also are afflicted with this poor habit. One insightful member suggested it was because of an innate fear of success, which sparked my interest, so upon the conclusion of the meeting I researched the subject. 

It appears there are a number of signs and causes for the fear of success which I won't get into much here for the sake of brevity but to mention a couple of highlights:

Signs of a fear of success:

• Giving up just at the point of succeeding. Isn't it ironic that this makes the list since it was this comment made by my wife that started this whole conversation? 
• Procrastination which is a method of avoiding discomfort or conflict which might arise in the pursuit of success. Procrastination is also a symptom for the fear of the unknown.

Other results from the fear of success:

• Being in the spotlight. Is it realistic to believe that one can avoid the spotlight and still be a success, especially in my particular line of work?
• Being anxious about additional responsibilities that come with success. This is related to comfort levels. It might interrupt our TV time.
• Being afraid of what others will think of us. Pursuit of success might not be compatible with the image our friends have of us or it might shift the balance of power in the relationship. This may be one obstacle to success but a possible solution is to either find new friends or conduct business completely apart from your friends.
• The imposter syndrome. This is a factor with me personally and it is related to being afraid of what others think of us. There are always going to be those with different styles or skill levels than I but that doesn't negate my abilities.