Fear of success involves being afraid of achievement ,often to the point that people will sabotage themselves (Imposter Syndrome).While success is generally viewed as desirable ,there are reasons why people may be fearful of doing too well. It is important to recognize is that people often don’t fear the success itself …instead ,their fear is centred on potential consequence of success. Can also be referred as Success anxiety or success phobia or achievemephobia .Negative impact on overall life satisfaction

1. Compiled by Col Mukteshwar Prasad(Retd),
MTech,CE(I),FIE(I),FIETE,FISLE,FInstOD,AMCSI
Contact -+919007224278, e-mail
muktesh_prasad@yahoo.co.in
for book ”Decoding Services Selection Board” and SSB
guidance and training at Shivnandani Edu and Defence
Academy
Fear of success

2.  Fear of success involves being afraid of
achievement ,often to the point that people will
sabotage themselves (Imposter
Syndrome).While success is generally viewed as
desirable ,there are reasons why people may be
fearful of doing too well. It is important to
recognize is that people often don’t fear the
success itself …instead ,their fear is centred on
potential consequence of success.
 Can also be referred as Success anxiety or
success phobia or achievemephobia
.Negative impact on overall life satisfaction

3. Story
 Mukesh Chopra was my class mate in A sec of NDA as well
my course mate 44 NDA. Intellectually he was sound but
probably had low confidence on himself .Wanted to well by
any means. He used to sit next me and during examination
specially Chemistry ,he would cheat by writing on his thigh
and also carrying notes. Well he continued doing well in
academics .He was a good sports person and held
appointment in both 5th and 6th term.
 His tendency continued at IMA ,where he was caught
cheating ,but due to intervention of Co Cdr was saved. He
passed out 3rd in overall merit . Sangro Co was adjudged as
champion not because we were great but with meticulous
planning of Coy Cdr the then Maj Khirbat. Could have walked
out with sword of honour but he joined ASC.
 He probably was suffering from Kleptomania
 With in few years of his service was court marstialed for his
unethical activities in 1983.In civil world he again started
doing well and became probably agent/spy of China and
settled in Canada with his wife and daughter. Had standing

4. Story
 It is classical case of Fear of Success
 Imposter Syndrome –The belief that you are not as good as you’d like
people to think you are. As a result you get in the way of your own
success just to confirm that negative self impression. i.e. doubtful
about own capability in spite of achieving success.
 He owed his success to cheating and fraud and protection from various
authorities. Suffering from Insecurity .Unable to go to the roots of
insecurities and making peace with what he was
 Passing out no 3 in merit is really creditable. Passing SSB, then becoming
Commissioned Officer is praiseworthy. But Self Sabotaged and turned
away from opportunity of receiving Sword of Honour and probably
becoming Senior officer like many of our Course Mates
 Suffered from Isolation ,loneliness and worthlessness(Being court
marstialed is the greatest stigma on the career of an officer)
 Low Self Esteem as he continued employing unethical means for
success and wealth
 Fearing not so palatable comments from his peer groups for dubious
means employed resulting in greater Anxiety
 Low Self Efficacy

5. Story
 Where did the system fail
 Evaluation at NDA and IMA is basically on academic records and
excellence in sports
 Personality check what Army calls Officer Like Quality is vague and
unscientific
 OLQs judged at SSB and judged at Academy are at variance
 Instructors are not trained to evaluate OLQs
 Regt /Corps and lineyards matter

6. Introduction
 It is irrational fear of getting it right
 Though success is desirable yet some are fearful of doing too well .
 People are afraid of potential consequences of success and not the
Success itself
 Because achieving one’s goals means making sacrifices or enduring
losses
 Perhaps they may wary about the ultimate cost of success
 Fear of success
 Can make it difficult to reach your goals and
 Can be detrimental to your Self-esteem , Undermine happiness and
Overall well-being.
 Road ahead
 Strengthening coping skill ,
 Dealing with stress ,
 Cultivating the understanding that allows us to unravel our most
negative and toxic beliefs
 Practicing tolerating discomfort,
 Letting go our fear of being wrong

7. Characteristics and reframe
 Lack of goals: By having very low aim/goals people never make any real
headway toward success.
 Giving up: People may derail their own success by quitting right before it
seems they are about to succeed.
 Procrastination: Putting things off until the last possible minute means
people aren't doing their best which can impact chances of succeeding.
 Self-handicapping: May place obstacles in their own path that decrease
their chances of doing well.
 It can be from minor acts of self-sabotage to more serious self-destructive
behaviors.
 Goal addiction: Obsessive and almost compulsive need to set goals and
achieve them. They can’t slow down, and they can’t stop . Their fear of
success is that it defines them entirely, and they are lost without it.
 Half-hearted attempts: When we make half-hearted attempts we do the
bare minimum to convince ourselves (and others) that we’re taking the right
steps, but just not getting where we want to be. It’s a victim mentality to shirk
away responsibilities of failures. The half-hearted fear can look and sound
like, “I tried, but it didn’t work. No point trying again.” Or, it might sound a bit
like, “I’m not good enough to do that.” Either way, it’s an excuse.

8. Identifying Fear of Success
 These actions motivated by Fear Of Success may instead be attributed to
 Laziness,
 Lack of motivation, and
 Poor discipline(sense of responsibility in terms of SSB. )
 In either case it seriously undermines people from living their lives to
the fullest.
 Identifying Fear of Success
 Being afraid of what will happen if you were in the spotlight/Limelight
 Worrying about leaving people behind if you move forward because of
success
 Feeling anxious about acquiring new responsibilities as the result of success
 Being worried that things will just get more complicated than what you can
handle
 Fearing comments from those who do not like your success
 Worrying about experiencing other social problems
 People may be aware of some of these worries, but lack insight into the
true causes of their self-sabotaging behaviors.
 Help of Therapist to learn to identify and recognize some of the fear-based
behaviors may be needed

9. Causes of Fear of Success
 Imposter syndrome: People may
 Experience fear that their achievements are undeserved or that they
are not as good as other people in their field.
 Fear that they won’t be able to live up to expectations or
 Discover that they aren’t up for the challenge.
 
Misinterpreting feelings associated with success:
 Excitement and anxiety share many of the same physical signals.
 Hence it is sometimes easy to misinterpret feelings of excitement as
nervousness or anxiety.
 This can cause people to avoid situations that trigger such emotions.
 Fear of backlash: Sometimes people fear success because of the
anticipated potential social or relationship repercussions called
backlash avoidance.
 For example,
 Women avoid self-promotion being non aligned with traditional gender
roles.
 Women tend to associate success with greater negative consequences.

10. Causes of Fear of Success….
 Negative experiences: People may fear doing well again in
future if they have experienced some negative outcome in the
past after doing well—
 Being derided for being a “show off” or
 Enduring hardship because of this success
 Poor self-efficacy : People who have a fear of success also
tend to have low self-efficacy.
 Self-efficacy refers to a person's beliefs and ability to achieve
their goals.
 Shyness or social anxiety: People who are shy or socially
anxious may fear succeeding because they do not want to be in
the spotlight.

11. Impact of the Fear of Success
 The fear of success can have a serious negative impact on a person's life
which might hold one back from getting what they want in life :
 Lower life satisfaction: One study found that this fear significantly reduced
satisfaction with life.
 Difficulty pursuing goals: Fear of achievement is correlated with difficulties
initiating and maintaining behaviors. Because
 First steps toward a goal are so difficult, people who fear success may
struggle to get started. Or
 They may find that they start projects and then lack the motivation to finish
them.
 Reduced self-esteem: People with Fear of success are associated with
lower self esteem as against strong self esteem for achievement
 This gets compounded if they also experience imposter syndrome because
they don’t attribute their achievement to their skill, knowledge, or hard work.
 Low expectations: People with a fear of success tend to adopt low
academic and career goals compared to their abilities.

12. Treatment
 Psychoanalytic therapy: This type of psychotherapy is focused on
understanding unconscious influences and childhood experiences and
how they might contribute to a person's current problems.
 Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps people learn how to
identify the automatic negative thoughts that contribute to maladaptive
behaviors.
 By understanding these negative thought patterns, people can learn how
to develop more positive ways of thinking that won’t hamper their ability to
achieve their goals.
 At times Dr’s medication may help

13. Coping
 Things that you can do on your own to help cope with and overcome a
fear of success.
 Reflecting on the nature and source of your fear
 Learning to identify the behaviors that occur as a result.
 Focus your attention on combating these self-destructive tendencies.
 Deal With Stress
 Because stress can play a role in your fear, it is important to look for ways to
relax and manage your stress and anxiety.
 Try stress management techniques such as:
 Deep breathing
 Exercise
 Journaling
 Meditation
 Visualization
 Progressive muscle relaxation
 Identify Negative Beliefs

14. Coping…
 Finding ways to reframe your thoughts about achievement can also be
an effective coping strategy.
 Start paying attention to some of the negative beliefs that you might have
surrounding achievement.
 Do you associate success with negative outcomes?
 Are you worried about what other people might think?
 Once you become more aware of these negative thought patterns, you can
start working to replace them with more positive ones.
 Practice Tolerating Discomfort
 Fear of achievement can lead to avoidance behaviors
 Can cope by improving your distress tolerance skills.
 When you experience uncomfortable or unpleasant emotions, work on
gradually learning to sit with those feelings rather than run from
them.
 Over time your fear and discomfort become easier to deal with.
 May find that the source of your anxiety wasn’t as difficult or frightening as
you thought it was going to be.