Comments on: Is it Fear of Failure or Fear of Success that is Holding You Back?

By: Roadblock | The Home Office Organizer

Roadblock | The Home Office Organizer — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:13:06 +0000

[...] you unintentionally using the state of your home office as a roadblock to success? (If so, read this post.) Look yourself in the mirror and decide what you stand for, and where you are going. Then, look at [...]

By: Damen Choy

Damen Choy — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Perhaps this book can help: "The Inner Game of Work: Focus, Learning, Pleasure, and Mobility in the Workplace" by Timothy Gallwey. This is a good book about coaching that you can use to coach yourself and others. Go for it! Good Luck. Damen Damen Choys last blog post..How a Community College Education can Jump-Start Your Career

By: 15 Abilities You Must Have to Get Out of the Rat Race | Sparkplug CEO

15 Abilities You Must Have to Get Out of the Rat Race | Sparkplug CEO — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:01:53 +0000

[...] networking, or perhaps worst of all, the noise inside of your own head of self-doubt, fear, or unrealistic expectations of yourself. Personally, I’ve only heard about these things, I [...]

By: iDesign Studios Blog » Blog Archive » Setting Business Goals and Resolutions

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:17:41 +0000

[...] eMoms at Home Is it Fear of Failure or Fear of Success that is Holding You Back? [...]

By: WAH(web)Mommy » Blog Archive » Friday Find: Setting Business Goals and Resolutions for 2008

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:05:46 +0000

[...] eMoms at Home Is it Fear of Failure or Fear of Success that is Holding You Back? [...]

By: from the Park Bench

from the Park Bench — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:37:35 +0000

If You Aren’t Afraid, Try Harder…

I’ve been dealing with fear about my business a lot lately. It’s slowing me down and causing me to double think my every move. Recently I’ve read several good posts about fear on some of my favorite blogs. eMoms at Home did a great article on Is it …

By: entrepreMusings » Rattling Out Some Link Love

entrepreMusings » Rattling Out Some Link Love — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 19:58:20 +0000

[...] eMoms at Home [...]

By: Brandie Kajino

Brandie Kajino — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 22:01:02 +0000

Thank you for this post. I so understand that fear! It’s something I recently came to grips with. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t motivated, or whatever my excuse happened to be that day. I also figured out that there were things that I absolutely hated doing, so I quit doing them. I was afraid to specialize – eek, what if I had a calendar booked to the gills? It was all in my head and affecting me deeply.
My advice if you haven’t dealt with something like this? Deal with it and get on with fulfilling your destiny. That feeling may just mean that you have something really great to do!

By: Gill

Gill — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:22:58 +0000

I have been there,and done that. I just think of it as good experience! I felt really confortable in my business in the beginning. The more it grew, the more my business (I thought) became less me. The demands were high and the time was limited. I also had a family to be with too. My fear stemmed from “I’m doing the right thing at the wronge time in my life!

By: Tony Berkman

Tony Berkman — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:08:01 +0000

Thanks for sharing this message. It came at the right time.

By: Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 3 | Freelance Parent

Freelance Advice from the Blogosphere, Part 3 | Freelance Parent — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 17:20:43 +0000

[...] Moms at Home with her article “Is It Fear of Failure or Fear of Success That’s Holding You Back?” [...]

By: Wendy Piersall

Wendy Piersall — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:41:43 +0000

Aruni – thanks for letting me know! I found yours and another one in Akismet. Not sure why that happens sometimes, but I’m always glad to be able to save a great comment from disaster!

By: Aruni

Aruni — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:31:58 +0000

I left a comment but still don’t see it. I guess it’s stuck in spam filter land. Hmmm. Anyway, I stumbled this post!

By: Aruni

Aruni — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:17:24 +0000

Wendy – this is an excellent post as is Megan’s post. I am going to put the following comment on her post as well.

I honestly think that the fear of success can cause more paralyzation (sp?) than the fear of failure. I am facing this exact same issue right now.

Do I raise funds for my company and grow? I know I can’t do it all. If I ‘fail’ now when not many people know about us maybe I’ll slip away unnoticed. But what if I fail after bringing along people for the ride? What will they and the rest of the world think? And the fears you mention above regarding becoming hugely successful swim through my mind constantly. As well as if I ‘make’ it:

+ will I have time for my kids and marriage?
+ will I have time for myself?
+ will I have time for my friends?
+ can I handle the criticism that often comes with success from people who just like to criticize (I am known to take things too personally sometimes)

In my search for answers I interview people on the topic of success and every story is different. http://www.entrepremusings.com/index.php/articles/

I work on my fear of success by forcing myself to be in the same room with people who others think of as successful for practice. I use to be deathly afraid of public speaking, but I kept putting myself out there…volunteering to speak despite my fears and now the stage looks so inviting. I’m hoping the same will hold true if I hang around a bunch of successful people! My for my next gig I’ll try out being a singer.

Thanks for writing this post and writing it now. I needed the reminder that I’m not the only one out there peaking around the corner hoping Success doesn’t see me and come jump on my head!

One piece of advice I can give (which I have to remind myself of constantly) is separating my success as a human being from the success of my company/job. As entrepreneurs we tend to tie those two intricately together which can be emotionally devastating for bot the company and us.

By: Mother Earth

Mother Earth — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:49:31 +0000

awesome post wendy – i think i have sabotaged quite a few success opportunities for fear that I’d lose me along the way. It’s the only way I know how to describe it – if i get too busy -or in over my head busy – like if my time is not my own and the rest of my world turns to chaos. I get lost in that inertia. Then in order to avoid the fear of being too busy – I shut down. When I shut down I get scared and then I am clawwing my way back to the work I love vs being happy I have a profession I love. It’s very intense.
and frustrating

I did not know about your personal challenge path – wow, it makes me admire you even more – wendy what a champion you are

Mother Earth
http://www.bestwellnessconsultant.com

By: Wendy Piersall

Wendy Piersall — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:44:30 +0000

David – you bring up an extremely important point that is a whole other post!

If we put in our all and fail, then we risk our very identity. While we’re still trying (but not all the way), we can still hold onto the idea that “I can do this”, “I am good enough”, etc.

But if we failed on that level, risking losing that dream is indeed frightening.

Great comment – something I need to explore further… both on the blog and within myself.

By: David LaFerney

David LaFerney — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:39:07 +0000

If you (or I) make only a half baked effort on a project, and then that project fails, then it’s really no big deal (on a personal level). If, however we go “all in” and fail, then this affirms personal failure – to our delicate ego. So, to quote the philosopher Homer (Simpson) “Never Try”.

Really committing is risky. Quite scary for the risk averse. Understanding this can be a powerful thing.

By: Googlelady

Googlelady — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:33:25 +0000

Wendy, great article. I always follow this: To succeed you have to fail so accepting our fails is not bad (for those that are still afraid after reading this great post)

By: Susan Payton

Susan Payton — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:18:22 +0000

Wendy, for you, there’s no turning back. You ARE successful! The 4,233 emails in your inbox is proof!

It is definitely hard to be open to what may come, even if it is sure to be wonderful. But once you do, isn’t it a great feeling?

And success is what you make of it. You don’t have to be materialistic or shallow just because you’re good at what you do.

By: Heroes

Heroes — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 10:37:40 +0000

This article of yours is pure truth, what can i say.You are right here, and that’s a law, when every time you have to pass the fears, there’s gonna be a moment of easiest in things that you do.